Paddy Bradley

What makes Bradley particularly interesting right now is his recent form. Over the last two weeks he has won 3 from 16 rides — that's closer to 1 in every 5, nearly double his season average. In a sport where confidence and rhythm matter as much as raw ability, that kind of purple patch is exactly what gets trainers picking up the phone.

His most consistent partnership is with trainer Simon Dow, where he has won 8 races from 84 rides together — again that 1-in-10 ratio, but the volume of rides tells its own story. Eighty-four rides with the same trainer is a relationship built on trust, and trust in this sport is currency.

There are also signs that Bradley has specific strengths worth noting. At Southwell he has won 7 races from just 29, which is a genuinely impressive record at a track where not every jockey clicks. Some riders just suit certain tracks — the bends, the surface, the rhythm of the place — and Southwell looks like it suits Bradley. On wet or muddy ground he has also shown well, winning 1 from 5 races in those conditions, which hints at a jockey comfortable when the race becomes a test of stamina and judgement rather than pure speed.

Perhaps the most encouraging detail is the direction of travel. His win rate has moved from 8% last year — about 1 in every 12 — to 10% this season, roughly 1 in every 10. That might sound like a small shift, but across hundreds of rides it represents a meaningful step forward. Bradley is still young in the job, and the numbers suggest a rider who is genuinely improving. The next question is whether he can sustain this recent burst of form and push that rate higher still.