Shaun Lycett

One relationship that stands out — for all the wrong reasons — is his partnership with Bloodhound. Seventeen races together without a single win is the kind of stat that would test any trainer's patience. Whether that's down to the horse, the races chosen, or just a long run of bad luck, it's a combination that hasn't clicked yet.

There is a small but meaningful bright spot in the numbers. On slightly wet ground, Lycett's runners perform noticeably better — 1 win from 7 races at 14%, or roughly 1 in every 7. That's more than three times his overall win rate this season, which suggests he either knows how to place horses when conditions soften, or has runners in his yard that genuinely handle that kind of ground well. It's a narrow sample, but it's the kind of detail that hints at a trainer who pays attention to what suits his horses.

Twenty-six career winners in four years won't turn heads in the way a big-name yard might, but building a training operation from scratch is genuinely hard work, and Lycett is still relatively early in that journey. A better season ahead, and a first win with Bloodhound, would go a long way.