David & Nicola Barron

This season, though, has been a little leaner than they would like. The pair have sent out 15 winners from 230 runners — that is roughly 1 in every 15 races, or a win rate of around 7%. Last year they were closer to 9%, which works out at about 1 in every 11. It is not a dramatic fall, but it is the kind of dip that trainers notice and want to reverse. In a competitive sport where margins are small, dropping two percentage points across a full season means several winners that almost materialised but did not quite get there.

One area where the yard genuinely stands out is on wet, muddy ground. With 1 winner from just 4 races in those conditions, they are converting at 25% — that is 1 in every 4, which is an exceptional figure. Most trainers would be delighted with half that. It suggests that when the ground turns heavy and many yards start making excuses, the Barrons may quietly be the ones to watch.

Their most productive jockey partnership is with William Pyle, who has ridden 5 winners from 58 races for the yard — a win rate of around 9%, or roughly 1 in every 12. That is comfortably above their overall seasonal average, which tells you something: Pyle and the Barrons clearly have a working relationship that brings out the best in their horses. Five winners from 58 attempts is not a headline number, but in training it is the consistency of a trusted alliance that matters. One partnership that has yet to click is with Clonquest, who has run three times for the yard without winning — small sample, but one to keep an eye on.

At 98 career winners in four years, the Barrons are building something real. The current season may be a shade below their own standards, but the wet-ground numbers alone suggest this is a yard worth following when the forecast turns grey.