J A Berry

The one bright spot worth talking about is Cruisin Susan, a horse Berry has clearly built a real working relationship with over time. Three wins from 34 races together might not sound like much on paper, but in a yard that hasn't troubled the scoreboard at all in the last twelve months, those three wins represent everything — proof that the team can get it right when the pieces fall into place. For a small operation still finding its feet, having one horse you can genuinely rely on is more valuable than it might seem from the outside.

Berry is still early in the training game, four years being a relatively short time to establish yourself in a competitive sport where experience counts for a great deal. The numbers right now are hard going, but the story isn't over — it's barely started.