Annastarzy

The numbers tell a tidy story. She was nothing special early on, running four times without winning and finishing fourth twice before things clicked. Since then, she has won three in a row, with her most recent victory coming at Newbury just this week. That kind of form — going 1-1-1 after a patchy start — suggests a young horse who needed time to mature and has now worked out what racing is all about. At three years old, that timing matters. Some horses take the whole season to find themselves; Annastarzy appears to have found herself mid-summer.

The conditions she has thrived in are worth noting. On normal ground, she has won 2 of 3 races — a 67% win rate that is genuinely striking. The same pattern holds over distances of seven furlongs to a mile, where she has also won 2 of 3. These are not flukes; they are preferences, and knowing a horse's preferences is half the battle. Her first win came at Thirsk on 31 May, and she has not stopped since.

There is one interesting wrinkle. Her best-placed finishes have come when stepping up to better company, yet her three wins have all arrived at Class 4 level — the middle tier of British racing. She is 0 from 3 at that level in terms of wins, which sounds contradictory until you realise the wins came at the same grade. In short, she has not yet been asked the harder question of whether she can beat the best. That question is coming.

Behind the horse is one of British racing's most productive yards. Trainer Richard Hannon, based in Wiltshire, has sent out 118 winners already this season — a remarkable output that speaks to the sheer size and quality of the operation. When a horse starts winning in a yard like that, it rarely goes unnoticed for long. Annastarzy is currently active, raced just yesterday, and very much in the conversation.