Micky Hammond

This season tells a similar story. Hammond has sent out 415 runners and come back with 25 winners, which works out at roughly 1 in every 17 — a 6% win rate. To put that in perspective, most trainers are happy to win with 1 in 10, so that ratio might look modest on paper. But volume matters in this sport. Getting 415 horses fit, entered, travelled, and competitive is a significant operation, and 25 winners from that workload represents a yard that is always in the game, even if it is not dominating the headlines.

Hammond's most regular jockey partnership is with Aiden Brookes, who has ridden 104 times for the yard and come home in front on 4 of those occasions — wins roughly 1 in every 26 rides together. That is a lean return by any measure, and it suggests the pair are often working with horses that are not the most fancied in their respective fields. What it does show, though, is a relationship built on trust and familiarity. Brookes clearly knows how the yard operates, and that kind of consistency can pay off when the right horse comes along.

One partnership that has not paid off yet is with Shadowfax Of Rohan, who has run 8 times for Hammond without winning. Eight races together and nothing to show for it is a frustrating run, and it raises the natural question of whether the right race simply hasn't come along yet, or whether horse and yard are still searching for the conditions that bring out the best in it. Sometimes it just takes time.

At four years into his training career and 174 winners in the book, Hammond is clearly building something with purpose. He is not yet among the names that casual racing fans would recognise, but trainers who operate at this level — consistent, professional, always competitive — are the ones who tend to surprise people when a proper horse walks through the door.