Distant Storm

Both victories have come at Newmarket, which is worth paying attention to. Newmarket is one of British racing's most prestigious venues — a long, wide, largely flat track where horses that handle the straight course well tend to keep coming back and winning. Distant Storm has done exactly that, winning two of three races there, with those wins coming in July and September of 2025. The second of those was a Class 1 race — meaning one of the top races in the country — which is a serious achievement for a horse this young, still in only its fourth career start.

The trainer is Charlie Appleby, based right in Newmarket itself, which gives the yard a natural advantage on home soil. Appleby's operation has sent out 122 winners this season alone — this is not a small stable hoping for occasional results, this is one of the most powerful yards in British racing, and when a horse emerges from it with credentials like Distant Storm's, people take notice.

The one thing worth flagging is the absence. Distant Storm hasn't raced in roughly five months, returning from a break that began shortly after that Class 1 win in late September. Long gaps between races can mean anything — a small setback, a deliberate rest, or simply careful management of a talented horse — and nothing here suggests cause for alarm. What it does mean is that the first race back will tell us a great deal about whether Distant Storm has trained on over winter and is ready to go again. Given the record so far, it would take a brave person to bet against it.