Empire Of Light

Grant Tuer trains him out of Birkby in North Yorkshire, and the yard has been in fine form this season with 26 winners. Tuer has spoken openly about the puzzle Empire Of Light has posed — a horse he rates well above his official mark, who showed too much early enthusiasm over the wrong distances for too long. Getting a horse like that to settle, find his right trip, and deliver consistently is genuinely difficult work. The distance that suits him best appears to be somewhere between a mile and three furlongs and a mile and four furlongs, where he has won 3 of his 6 races at those trips — a 50% record that stands out sharply against the rest of his career.

Ground conditions matter enormously to him. He is a big, heavy horse, and the team have noted that very fast, dry ground can work against him physically. On dry ground he has won 2 of his 5 races, a 40% record, but when conditions turned in his favour at Newmarket — a bit of overnight rain softening things slightly — he travelled powerfully from start to finish. Haydock Park is the course where he has made his mark most clearly, winning 2 of his 5 races there, and it is a track that tends to reward horses who stay well and travel smoothly, which fits him perfectly.

Harrison Shaw has been in the saddle for 10 of his races together, picking up 1 win from those — a partnership that has not yet fully caught fire statistically, though the recent winning streak suggests horse and rider may be finding their rhythm. At Class 4 level, which is where he most often races, he has won 2 of 10 — but three straight wins suggests he may be ready to climb. A horse who has taken time to work out but is finally running to his potential is one of the more compelling stories in a yard that is clearly hitting form.