Aiden Brookes

His most frequent partnership is with trainer Micky Hammond, though it is one that tells an interesting story in itself. Of 104 rides for Hammond's yard, only 4 have ended in the winner's enclosure — that is barely 1 in every 26 races — which suggests the horses he rides in that partnership are often there to run competitively rather than win. It is the kind of workhorse relationship that keeps a jockey busy but rarely makes the headlines.

Where Brookes genuinely stands out is on wet ground and at Chester. When the ground is soft and the going gets testing, his record sharpens considerably — 4 wins from just 21 races, which is almost 1 in every 5. That is more than double his overall win rate, and it hints at a rider who either suits a more physical, grinding style of racing or simply gets better opportunities when conditions take out some of the competition. Chester tells a similar story: 4 winners from 19 runners at a tight, turning track that rewards tactical awareness and local knowledge. Winning at Chester at any rate is tricky — the course's unique shape catches plenty of jockeys out — so posting those numbers there is genuinely worth noting.

The picture that emerges is of a jockey in the middle stretch of building a career. Ninety-three winners in four years is honest progress rather than a meteoric rise, but Brookes clearly has specific conditions and venues where he performs above his average. For any trainer looking to place a horse on a soft-ground day at Chester, that combination makes him a quietly interesting booking.