James Best

That ability to step up is perhaps the most striking thing about Best's record. He has won two top-level races in Britain — the kind of occasions where the best horses and biggest yards turn up — at Warwick and Sandown Park. For a jockey still relatively early in his career, landing any Class 1 race is a meaningful achievement. Doing it twice, at two different venues, suggests he can handle pressure and big fields without freezing.

His numbers this season tell a story of volume and persistence. Twenty-five winners from 364 rides works out to roughly 1 in every 15 races — a 7% win rate that, on the surface, sounds modest. But 364 rides in a single season is a serious workload. It means trainers keep calling him, keep putting him up, and keep trusting him with their horses. That kind of demand is its own endorsement.

Where Best starts to look genuinely dangerous is when conditions turn against everyone else. On very wet and muddy ground — the kind of heavy, churned-up tracks that some jockeys quietly dread — he wins 4 from every 29 races, a 14% win rate that is exactly double his seasonal average. That is a meaningful edge. It suggests he rides with particular confidence and feel when conditions are at their most unforgiving, which is a skill not every jockey develops.

His record at Bangor-on-Dee is also worth noting: 3 winners from just 10 rides at the track. Win 3 from 10 anywhere and people start to notice — that is a 30% hit rate at a venue that suits his style. His most regular partnership is with trainer Sarah-Jayne Davies, for whom he has ridden 56 times and won on 3 occasions. That is a relatively modest return but the sheer number of rides together speaks to a steady, trusted working relationship. Best is not a household name yet, but the building blocks are clearly there.