Annaf

Across 42 races, Annaf has won 8 times and placed on 20 other occasions — a win rate of roughly 1 in every 5 races, which is solid, but the raw number doesn't tell the full story. What matters is where those wins have come. Three of his eight wins have been in top-level Class 1 races, including two at Royal Ascot and one at Lingfield Park. For a horse trained in Oakham, Rutland, winning at Ascot once is a big deal. Winning there twice, and at the highest level, is the kind of thing that makes a yard's reputation.

The key to Annaf seems to be that he genuinely improves in tricky conditions. On wet ground he has won 2 from 3 races — that's two-thirds of the time. On slow ground, it's 2 from 4. Even on normal ground he wins 1 in every 3. And he has a particular affinity for Lingfield Park, where he has won 2 of his 4 races there. Appleby said that after bringing him back from a break in January 2023 at Lingfield, "he has really thrived on the all-weather" — and the results backed that up, with wins at Kempton and a Listed success following in quick succession. The horse who once needed patience has turned into one who rewards it handsomely.

Jockey Rossa Ryan has clearly cracked the code. The pair have won 5 of their 12 races together — that's 42%, an extraordinary ratio at this level — and after one win abroad, Appleby was quick to credit Ryan: "It's all down to Rossa, not my training." The trainer is also eyeing further international opportunities, including a possible trip to Japan, after Annaf's form at big overseas meetings. Appleby's yard has sent out 79 winners this season alone, so there is no shortage of confidence in Oakham right now.

What makes Annaf worth following is simple: he raced just one day ago, he won a top-level race at Ascot as recently as October 2025, and his trainer is talking about Japan. This is not a horse winding down. He is, if anything, just getting started on the biggest stages.