Mr B O'Neill

This season tells a similar story: 2 winners from 27 rides, which works out at roughly 1 in every 14 races. A 7% win rate will not turn heads on its own, but it masks something more interesting. When the ground turns wet and muddy, O'Neill operates at a completely different level. In those conditions this season he has won 1 from 3 races — that is a one-in-three return, and that kind of ratio in testing ground is the sort of thing trainers quietly file away when they are looking for a rider on a miserable winter afternoon.

The wet-ground numbers matter because riding on heavy, churned-up going is a skill in itself. Horses handle it differently, races are run at a different rhythm, and jockeys who can read those conditions and stay patient tend to stand out. O'Neill's record in the mud suggests he is one of those riders. With four years of experience now behind him and a clear edge in specific conditions, he is the kind of jockey worth watching as the season wears on.