The numbers this season tell a story of a trainer hitting his stride. Appleby has sent out 74 winners from 598 runners — roughly 1 in every 8 races — and that figure has climbed from 1 in every 11 last year. That might sound like a modest jump, but in percentage terms it is a meaningful shift: from 9% to 12%, the difference between a trainer finding his feet and one who knows exactly what he is doing. More than 500 runners in a season also signals serious volume, with horses heading to all kinds of tracks in all kinds of conditions.
Two areas stand out as genuine strengths. On wet or muddy ground, Appleby's record is exceptional: 4 winners from just 16 races, meaning he wins 1 in every 4 when the rain comes. That is more than double his overall rate and suggests real skill in identifying which horses thrive when conditions turn heavy. Then there is Newmarket, one of the most competitive and prestigious venues in Britain — a wide-open track that exposes any weakness in a horse's preparation. Appleby has sent out 5 winners from just 14 runners there, winning more than 1 in 3, which is a remarkable return at a course where even the sharpest yards can struggle.
His most trusted jockey is Alistair Rawlinson, who has ridden 152 times for the yard and converted 15 of those into wins — roughly 1 in every 10. That is a long-running partnership built on familiarity and trust, the kind where trainer and jockey develop a shared language about what a horse needs on race day. For a trainer only four years into the job, Appleby has built something substantial, quickly.
| Course | Races | Wins | Win rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwell | 101 | 12 | 11.9% |
| Wolverhampton | 64 | 7 | 10.9% |
| Lingfield Park | 40 | 6 | 15% |
| chelmsford | 37 | 6 | 16.2% |
| Kempton Park | 32 | 6 | 18.8% |
| Nottingham | 31 | 5 | 16.1% |
| Newcastle | 28 | 2 | 7.1% |
| Doncaster | 25 | 3 | 12% |
| York | 24 | 0 | 0% |
| Ascot | 21 | 4 | 19.0% |
| Haydock Park | 20 | 3 | 15% |
| Beverley | 16 | 4 | 25% |
| Leicester | 15 | 2 | 13.3% |
| Newmarket | 14 | 5 | 35.7% |
| Pontefract | 12 | 1 | 8.3% |
| Goodwood | 12 | 0 | 0% |
| Thirsk | 12 | 0 | 0% |
| Brighton | 11 | 2 | 18.2% |
| Sandown Park | 9 | 3 | 33.3% |
| Catterick Bridge | 9 | 1 | 11.1% |
| Great Yarmouth | 9 | 0 | 0% |
| Windsor | 7 | 1 | 14.3% |
| Chepstow | 7 | 0 | 0% |
| Newbury | 6 | 0 | 0% |
| Epsom Downs | 5 | 0 | 0% |
| Ripon | 4 | 1 | 25% |
| Redcar | 4 | 0 | 0% |
| Chester | 4 | 0 | 0% |
| Salisbury | 4 | 0 | 0% |
| Ayr | 4 | 0 | 0% |
| Bath | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| Carlisle | 2 | 0 | 0% |
| The Curragh | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Hamilton Park | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Wetherby | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Ffos Las | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Huntingdon | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Leopardstown | 1 | 0 | 0% |
| Musselburgh | 1 | 0 | 0% |