Aqpan

That one career win came at Southwell on 28 March 2026, and the circumstances around it are telling. Varian was open about the fact that Aqpan wasn't fully wound up for the race, not at his peak fitness, only really finding his best stride as the finish line approached — and he still won convincingly enough to leave a strong impression. That kind of performance, winning while still with something in reserve, is often the most encouraging kind. It suggests there is more to come once the horse is sharpened up properly.

Varian himself has pointed to the bigger picture in no uncertain terms. The French 2,000 Guineas — one of the most prestigious races for three-year-olds in Europe — holds an entry for Aqpan, and the Greenham Stakes at Newbury, a recognised trial for the English equivalent, is being considered as a likely next step. These are not races you enter a horse in as wishful thinking; they are top-level contests, and the trainer's language around Aqpan is deliberately ambitious. Varian has described the horse as one they can "be bold with," which from a trainer who has sent out 87 winners already this season is a phrase that carries real weight.

Over his best trip of seven furlongs to a mile, Aqpan has won one from four races — roughly a 1-in-4 ratio — and Varian believes a mile will suit him well. The recent form figures make interesting reading too: his last six runs read 7-8-6-1-2-2, meaning outside of one poor run he has been competitive in five of his last six. The two runs before his Southwell win, both second-place finishes, came against what Varian described as very good horses. Losing to quality company is a very different thing from simply being beaten.

At three, with big targets in mind and a trainer willing to test him at the highest level, Aqpan is exactly the kind of horse who could look very different by the end of the season to how he looks on paper right now.