Ben Sutton

The relationship with trainer Olly Murphy is worth paying attention to. From 14 rides together they have won 4 races — that is just over 1 in every 3, a win rate that any jockey at any level would be happy with. When a trainer keeps putting the same rider up, it usually means they trust what they see at home on the gallops as much as what they see on a racecourse. That kind of confidence tends to be self-fulfilling.

If you want to watch Sutton at his best, go to Leicester on a day when the heavens have opened. At that track he has won 3 of his 6 races — exactly 1 in every 2 — and on genuinely wet, muddy ground his overall record reads 3 wins from 6 races, also 50%. Those two things are almost certainly connected. Some jockeys ride a wet track tentatively, worried about their horse losing its footing. Sutton clearly does not. On a surface that sorts the field out, he sorts himself out too.

The one curiosity in his record is Karma Police. Five races together, zero wins — which, given everything else going on this season, stands out. Not every partnership clicks, and sometimes a jockey and a particular horse simply never find a rhythm that works on raceday. It does not dent the bigger picture. Sutton is 22% this season, improving sharply, thriving in the mud, and building exactly the kind of trainer alliance that turns promising young jockeys into reliable ones. At four years in, he looks like someone whose best days are still ahead of him.