George Wood

The headline moment of his career so far came at Redcar, where he landed a top-level Class 1 race — the kind of occasion that puts a jockey's name in front of owners and trainers who might not have been paying attention before. There are riders who go entire careers without winning at that level, so ticking it off before his fifth year is no small thing.

His most productive working relationship is with trainer Jennie Candlish, and the numbers tell a clear story: 13 wins from 107 rides together, a win rate of 12%, or just over 1 in every 8. That is meaningfully better than his overall average, which suggests genuine chemistry between jockey and yard — the sort of partnership where both sides know what the other needs. One combination worth watching is his link-up with Vidmiyr, where he has won 1 of their 3 races together. Small sample, but an encouraging one.

There is one detail buried in the statistics that could become a real selling point. On wet, soft or muddy ground, Wood wins 15% of his races — 5 from 33 — compared to his overall rate of around 10%. That is a meaningful difference. Wet ground tends to sort horses out, but it also rewards jockeys who stay patient and pick their moments, and Wood appears to thrive in those conditions.

The slight dip in his win rate — from 12% last season to 10% this year — is worth noting, though not alarming. The volume of rides has stayed high, which tells you the sport's trainers still trust him with their horses. Whether he can nudge that number back up and add another big-race win to his CV will be one of the more interesting questions to follow as 2025 plays out.