American Empire

Donald McCain's yard at Cholmondeley in Cheshire has been firing on all cylinders this season with 55 winners already, but American Empire sits outside that success story. Where the horse does show genuine class is in Class 5 races, where it has posted a 25 percent win rate—one victory from four attempts. That suggests American Empire has found its level and performs well when pitched at the right mark, yet the recent form tells a different story: a sequence of fifth, seventh, third, fourth, second and third across the last six outings shows a horse that is competitive without being dominant. The second-place finish in that sequence hints at occasional proximity to winning, but American Empire seems trapped in a pattern of chasing without catching. For a horse now into its sixth year and without a win in 17 months, the challenge is clear: it needs to rediscover whatever magic worked that day at Market Rasen, or risk slipping out of the winner's circle altogether.