Liam Bailey

The numbers are moving in the right direction too. Last year Bailey was winning around 1 in every 14 races — about 7% of the time. This season that figure has climbed to 9%, which tells you the operation is getting sharper, not just bigger. More winners from a similar volume of runners is exactly the kind of improvement that gets people in the sport talking.

His most productive alliance is with jockey Billy Garritty, and the pair have developed into one of the more reliable combinations at their level. Together they have won 10 races from 89 rides — roughly 1 in every 9 — and that consistency over nearly 90 races together suggests genuine understanding rather than lucky timing. When Bailey puts Garritty up, something usually happens.

Then there is Say What You See, the horse that perhaps best illustrates what Bailey can do when things click. Four wins from 15 races together is a strong return — winning more than 1 in every 4 times out — and that kind of record with a single horse shows Bailey knows how to place and prepare an animal to give it every chance. Finding the right race at the right moment is a skill that takes years to develop, and Bailey appears to be developing it quickly.

Fifty-two winners in four years will not put Bailey in the headlines just yet, but the trajectory matters more than the total. He is winning more often than he was, he has a trusted jockey at his side, and he has at least one horse that genuinely delivers for him. The foundations are there.