Jackie Du Plessis

The most telling story in her record is the partnership with Forget You Not. Three wins from 22 races together might not sound dramatic — that's roughly 1 in every 7 races — but in a sport where a trainer and horse often part ways long before that kind of history builds up, 22 races is a real relationship. Du Plessis has kept faith with this horse, and the horse has repaid her three times over. For a small yard, that kind of consistent belief in a single runner often says more about a trainer's character than a flashy win rate ever could.

She is four years in, which in training terms still makes her relatively new to the job. The foundations are there. The question now is whether the horses coming through can start converting into winners and give her something more to work with in the year ahead.