Apple Away

Apple Away is a talented 7-year-old bay mare by Arctic Cosmos and out of Dr A Day.

Following a pleasing season in Point-to-Points over in Ireland, Apple Away took to Rules Racing incredibly well and progressed impressively through her first season. She ran seven times over hurdles; winning four times, finishing 2nd once and third once. One thing became very clear, Apple Away can jump, gallop and stay out a trip.

She got some Black Type on her page when winning a Listed race at Doncaster and finished off her season in style when winning the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) at Aintree.

Watch the journey to that race here:

Apple Away then enjoyed a well-deserved summer holiday before returning to training with her usual enthusiasm.

Her first run over fences ended up being a tougher task than planned but as always, Apple put in a cracking effort to finish 3rd. This set her up very nicely for her next outing, which saw her win by a staggering 31 lengths.

Apple Away’s next start came in a Grade 2 at Warwick. The race represented a big step up in class and she ran exceptionally well to finish 2nd to a talented rival in Grey Dawning. She then ran in a Grade 2 at Ascot, finishing 3rd, before she headed to the Cheltenham Festival to run in the National Hunt Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys’ Novices’ Chase (Grade 2). As always, Apple ran her heart out but the combination of the longer trip and testing ground just proved too much for her on the day.

Lucinda made the call to give her one last run in a Listed chase at Perth before the end of the 2023/24 season and in true ‘Apple’ style, she went out for her summer holiday on a high.

Apple Away returned to training after a good summer break and got her season underway at Kelso in October. She clearly needed the run and there were plenty of positives to take out of this reappearance. The visual impression is that the outing will put the edge on her for future assignments.

The three main options for Apple Away’s next run are the Listed Mares’ Chase at Market Rasen, the Rehearsal Handicap Chase at Newcastle or the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury.

As Lucinda put it: ‘We’ve got Apple on our side. That’s all we need.’