Maximilian

The headline moment of his career came at Doncaster on 28 January 2023, when he landed a Class 1 race — one of the top prizes in British racing. Trainer Donald McCain was characteristically candid about how close it came to not happening: he nearly walked away before the race because Maximilian simply wasn't showing much. That is very much part of this horse's personality. He saves plenty for himself, as McCain puts it. The yard has long believed in him, even through a run at Sandown on heavy, muddy ground that he hated — finishing third in a top-level race while clearly miserable is, in its own way, a testament to ability.

On the ground question, Maximilian is particular. He wins 50% of his races when conditions are slightly soft — two from four — and the Sandown episode is a reminder that truly waterlogged ground is not for him. Catch him right, on a track he knows, and the results speak for themselves.

His partnership with jockey Brian Hughes is worth noting. The two have raced together twelve times and won five of them — that's a win rate of 42%, or nearly 1 in every 2.5 races. For context, that is an unusually productive combination, suggesting Hughes understands exactly when to ask and when to wait on this horse.

The last win came 39 months ago, and his recent form — two second places and two thirds among his last six runs — shows he is competitive without finding the winner's enclosure. McCain has spoken about plans to go over larger fences this season, describing the horse as "very exciting" after a second-place finish in a Grade One. That assessment — that on another day, with the weight difference accounted for, the result might have been different — is the kind of thing trainers say carefully. Having watched Maximilian for years, McCain seems to mean it.