Annalough

The recent form makes for difficult reading. Finishing positions of 11th, 7th, 10th, 5th, and 10th across the last five completed races tells a story of a horse that occasionally finds a bit of rhythm — that 5th place finish stands out as the closest thing to a competitive effort — but never quite strings it all together when it matters. Jockey Alan King has been the regular partner, taking the ride in 5 of those races without a win between them, which at least suggests there is a consistency of approach even if the results have not followed.

Trainer Mark Michael McNiff operates out of Strandhill in County Sligo, and the yard has sent out 5 winners this season, so there is clearly ability within the operation to get horses into the winner's enclosure. That makes Annalough something of a puzzle — a horse that has not yet found a way to translate whatever ability it has into a result. Whether that changes remains to be seen, but with the team still running the horse regularly, clearly hope has not entirely run out.