Harriet Bethell

What really sets Bethell apart, though, is what happens when the weather turns nasty. On wet or muddy ground, her horses win 5 races from just 11 attempts — that is nearly 1 in every 2, a remarkable figure by any measure. Most trainers dread a wet spell; Bethell appears to relish one. Whether that comes down to the types of horses she targets, the way she prepares them, or simply an eye for opportunity in conditions others avoid, the numbers suggest she has found a genuine edge.

Carlisle tells a similar story. Five winners from 10 runners at the same track is the kind of record that speaks to a trainer who understands a course and knows exactly which horses to run there. Carlisle is a stiff, undulating track in the north of England that finds out horses who are not genuinely fit and well — it does not flatter the unprepared. Bethell's 50% record there amounts to a working knowledge that is almost unfair on the opposition.

Her most regular partnership with jockey Aiden Brookes has produced 2 wins from 14 rides together, around 1 in every 7. That is a workmanlike rather than spectacular return, but the relationship is clearly ongoing, and these combinations often take time to find their rhythm. With 14 rides already logged between them, the groundwork is there for that number to climb.

Bethell is still at an early stage of what looks like a long and competitive career. Sixty-two winners in four years is a genuine foundation, not a fluke, and the specific advantages she has carved out — wet ground, one track in particular — suggest a trainer who thinks carefully about how and where to deploy her horses. The next few seasons will be worth watching closely.