R K Watson

The most telling detail is the partnership with Jimli's Cave. Twenty-one races together and just one win — that's a horse and trainer combination that has spent a lot of time running without much reward. In racing, a long-standing partnership usually means the trainer believes in the horse, keeps finding races for it, and keeps hoping the pieces fall into place. One win from 21 attempts is a thin return, but it also speaks to the persistence that this yard clearly has in abundance.

The same could be said for the combination with jockey Mike O'Connor. Fourteen rides together and no winners yet is a partnership still searching for its moment. It's worth noting that jockey-trainer pairings often reflect a level of trust — you don't keep booking the same rider if you've given up — but results like these make it hard to build momentum.

At this stage, Watson is in a part of training that most successful trainers will tell you they've lived through: a period where nothing quite clicks, where the runners keep going out and the winners keep not coming back. Four years in is still relatively early. Some trainers take the better part of a decade to find their footing. But 71 runners without a single win this season is a hard set of numbers to look at, and the challenge now is simply to get that first one on the board and start building from there.