Annie Nail

Those two wins are an interesting pair. The first came at Fontwell Park back in June 2022, and the second at Fakenham in May 2025 — nearly three years apart. That gap is not unusual for a horse of her level, competing mostly in Class 5 races, which sit near the bottom of the British racing ladder. At that level, small fields and tight margins mean that even a modest horse can find the right day, the right conditions, and the right race to nick a win. Annie Nail has done it twice, both times on normal ground — her record on normal ground is 2 wins from 16 races, or about 1 in every 8, which is comfortably her best surface.

Philip Armson rides her most often, and their partnership is one of the brighter stats in her record. Together they have won 1 from 5 races — a 20% win rate, or 1 in every 5 — which is a noticeably better return than her overall figures suggest she should be capable of. That kind of chemistry between horse and rider is easy to overlook when you are scanning a results page, but trainers notice it.

She is trained by Tracey Leeson, based in Blakesley Heath in Northamptonshire, a small yard that has sent out one winner so far this season. Annie Nail was that winner — her Fakenham success in May — so she already represents the yard's entire tally on the board. That gives you a sense of the scale Leeson operates at: every win matters, and this horse has delivered.

After a 56-day break, her recent form of 3-6-2-7-6-4 shows she has been mixing near-miss performances with some tougher outings. The second place in there is promising — it means she was competitive not long ago. At nine, she is not getting younger, but horses at her level can keep finding the odd good day for years yet. Whether Armson is back in the saddle and the ground is dry will be worth watching.