Alan Persse

His most regular working relationship is with trainer Patrick J Flynn, for whom he has ridden 17 times and produced one winner. That is a win rate of around 6% — modest, but notably better than his overall average, which suggests Flynn is a trainer who sees something worth persisting with. In racing, a trainer who keeps putting you on horses is a trainer who believes in you, and 17 rides is a meaningful vote of confidence.

One number does stand out, and it is worth paying attention to. On very wet, muddy ground — the kind of conditions most horses and riders would rather avoid — Persse has won 1 race from just 4, a 25% win rate. That means he wins roughly 1 in every 4 races when the ground is at its worst. For context, that is almost ten times his overall win rate. Whether that is down to a particular style of riding that suits testing conditions, or simply a small sample that will level out over time, it is a pattern worth watching.

His partnership with Surviving Murmansk has yet to produce a win across six races together, which is the kind of statistic that can feel frustrating in the short term. But six races with the same horse also tells you that the team around that horse believes in Persse enough to keep putting him back in the saddle — and sometimes that loyalty takes time to pay off.

At four years in, Persse is still early in his career. Jockeys often take five or six years to establish themselves properly, and a first winless season followed by a breakthrough winner is a trajectory that many successful riders would recognise from their own early years. The building blocks are there — a regular trainer, a specific strength in difficult conditions, and a gradually improving record. The question now is whether he can turn that 1-in-33 into something more consistent.