Annie's Angel

That October 2024 debut win at Galway marked the beginning of a long journey with trainer Adrian McGuinness's yard at Lusk, which has been sending out winners steadily this season. The real story, though, is Annie's Angel's sweet spot over the longer distances. At two miles and beyond, she has won 1 of her 6 races — a 17 percent return that is significantly better than her overall record and suggests she finds her rhythm when asked to settle into a proper test of stamina. It is the kind of detail that explains why she landed this week's win after months in the wilderness: give her the ground and the distance, and she becomes dangerous.

Her recent form has been mixed. She finished fifth nine days ago, then was a well-beaten eighth, third, a distant twelfth, and a beaten third before that. It is the sort of inconsistent spell that would frustrate the yard, yet it also reads like a horse waiting for the right set of circumstances — and this week, everything aligned. She and jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle have not yet found their groove together; they are yet to break through after six rides, but the partnership may be one to watch if the yard can place her in races that suit her longer-distance profile.