Derek Fox

This season he has brought home 20 winners from 174 rides — that is roughly 1 in every 9, or an 11% win rate across the year. But zoom in on the last two weeks and the picture looks even sharper: 2 winners from just 8 rides, a 25% return. That is more than double his seasonal average, which suggests he is riding with real confidence right now.

His most important professional relationship is with the training yard run by Lucinda Russell and Michael Scudamore. Together they have produced 20 wins from 165 races — roughly 1 in every 8, a 12% win rate — and that kind of sustained partnership is the backbone of any jockey's career. When a trainer trusts you with 165 rides, it tells you something. When you convert at that rate, it tells you something else.

Fox also has a notable knack for wet and muddy conditions. On soft or heavy ground he has won 12 races from 64 — a 19% win rate, nearly 1 in every 5. That is significantly better than his overall average, which suggests he either rides more assertively in those conditions or simply has a strong book of rides that suit soft ground. Either way, when the rain comes, he becomes a more dangerous proposition. Hexham is a track worth watching him at in particular — he has landed 4 winners from just 17 rides there, a conversion rate of nearly 1 in 4.

His partnership with Triple Crown Ted stands out too: 2 wins from 5 races together. That might not sound dramatic in isolation, but jockey-horse combinations that click tend to get noticed quickly, and a 40% win rate with any horse over five outings is the kind of thing that earns you the booking again on a big day.