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James Smith(5)

James Smith is a young jockey still in the early stages of his career, having taken his first ride just two years ago in 2023. In that short time he has already racked up 41 winners — a solid foundation that shows he has established himself as a genuine working professional rather than someone just finding his feet.Based on TrackLab's AI analysis
Quick Facts
Role
Jockey
Record
14 wins from 212 races
Win rate
6.6%
Top trainer
Best course
Thurles (20% from 10 races)
Best going
Yielding to soft

📊 Key Numbers

A snapshot of this jockey's performance over the last 12 months
212
Races
14
Wins
6.6%
Win rate
avg ~10%
26.4%
Place rate (top 3)
avg ~30%

🔍 Full Analysis

TrackLab's AI-generated assessment based on career data and recent form
TrackLab's Jockey Breakdown
Auto-Generated

This season has been a grind. He has ridden 212 times and won 14, which works out at roughly 1 in every 15 races — a 7% win rate that represents a step back from last year, when he was winning closer to 1 in every 8. That kind of dip is not uncommon for a young jockey navigating a heavier workload or tougher competition, but it is something to keep an eye on. The encouraging sign is that the last two weeks look much sharper — 1 winner from 7 rides puts him at 14%, double his season average, which suggests he may be finding his rhythm again.

His most consistent partnership is with trainer Matthew J Smith, where he has ridden 31 times and won twice. A 6% win rate from a single yard sounds modest, but 31 rides in two years is a meaningful relationship — trainers do not keep putting a jockey up if they have doubts about them.

Where Smith genuinely stands out is on wet ground. When the going is soft and conditions get testing, his numbers improve sharply — 3 wins from 18 races on muddy ground gives him a 17% win rate, meaning he wins roughly 1 in every 6 races in those conditions. That is more than double his overall rate this season, and it is the kind of edge that trainers and owners notice. It suggests he either rides with more confidence when the ground is testing or simply attracts rides on horses built for those conditions.

The most striking number in his profile, though, is Down Royal. He has ridden there just 6 times and won 3 of them — that is a 50% win rate at a specific track, and it is the sort of stat that borders on remarkable. It may partly be small-sample fortune, but half a dozen rides is not nothing, and winning half of them at any track speaks to a real familiarity with the place. For a jockey only two years into his career, that kind of local dominance is well worth watching develop.

📈 Form Trend

How this jockey's win rate has changed month by month
Monthly win rate
2025–2026
5.6%
May
0%
Jun
10.5%
Jul
4.2%
Aug
0%
Sep
6.7%
Oct
13.0%
Nov
4.8%
Dec
0%
Jan
9.1%
Feb
14.3%
Mar
0%
Apr

🎯 Where This Jockey Thrives

Performance broken down by ground, class, and track type
🌧 Ground Conditions
Yielding to soft
Loves
Heavy (very wet)
Loves
Yielding
Good (firm-ish)
Ok
Soft to heavy
Ok
Soft (muddy)
Ok
Good to yielding
Avoids
Good to soft
Avoids
🏅 Competition Level
Class 1
Class 2
Class 3
Class 4
🏟 Track Shape
Right-handed, undulating
Loves
Left-handed, tight turning
Loves
Right-handed, wide and galloping
Ok
Left-handed, wide and galloping
Ok
Right-handed, tight turning
Avoids
Right-handed, tight
Avoids

🏇 Trainer Partnerships

The trainers they work with most, sorted by rides together
9.7%
Win rate
3/31
Won / Rode
Matthew J Smith First Choice
6.5%
Win rate
2/31
Won / Rode
3.3%
Win rate
1/30
Won / Rode
7.4%
Win rate
2/27
Won / Rode
8%
Win rate
2/25
Won / Rode
14.3%
Win rate
3/21
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/7
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/4
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/4
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/4
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/3
Won / Rode
50%
Win rate
1/2
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/2
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/2
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/2
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/2
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode
0%
Win rate
0/1
Won / Rode

Top Horses

The strongest horses currently associated with this jockey
Form: 90941P
Form: 7753
Form: -12P51
Form: 916P29
Form: 7524
Form: 00908-
Form: 21P673
Form: -23753
Form: 633450
Form: -30053

🏟 Course Record

Win rate at each course, sorted by number of races
CourseRacesWinsWin rate
Fairyhouse 27 0 0%
Punchestown 19 1 5.3%
Downpatrick 15 1 6.7%
Navan 14 2 14.3%
Cork 14 0 0%
Kilbeggan 13 0 0%
Naas 13 0 0%
Thurles 10 2 20%
Leopardstown 10 0 0%
Galway 8 0 0%
Tipperary 7 1 14.3%
Ballinrobe 7 0 0%
Sligo 7 0 0%
Down Royal 6 3 50%
Roscommon 6 0 0%
Limerick 5 0 0%
Killarney 5 0 0%
Cheltenham 5 0 0%
Bellewstown 4 1 25%
Clonmel 4 0 0%
Listowel 3 1 33.3%
Gowran Park 3 1 33.3%
Tramore 3 0 0%
Wexford 2 0 0%
Market Rasen 1 1 100%
Musselburgh 1 0 0%

📅 Recent Results

The last 20 results, most recent first
4 Apr
Fairyhouse · Long Distance (2m+) · Yielding_To_Soft
4 Apr
Fairyhouse · Long Distance (2m+) · Yielding_To_Soft
4 Apr
Fairyhouse · Long Distance (2m+) · Yielding_To_Soft
5th
29 Mar
Downpatrick · Long Distance (2m+) · Yielding_To_Soft
6th
29 Mar
Downpatrick · Long Distance (2m+) · Yielding_To_Soft
29 Mar
Downpatrick · Long Distance (2m+) · Yielding_To_Soft
Won
26 Mar
Clonmel · Long Distance (2m+) · Soft
5th
22 Mar
Limerick · Long Distance (2m+) · Soft
21 Mar
Navan · Long Distance (2m+) · Soft_To_Heavy
4th
21 Mar
Navan · Long Distance (2m+) · Soft
8th
21 Mar
Navan · Long Distance (2m+) · Soft
19 Mar
Cork · Long Distance (2m+) · Yielding
4th
19 Mar
Cork · Long Distance (2m+) · Yielding
17 Mar
Down Royal · Long Distance (2m+) · Yielding
Won
17 Mar
Down Royal · Long Distance (2m+) · Yielding
Won
13 Mar
Cheltenham · Long Distance (2m+) · Soft
14th
11 Mar
Cheltenham · 1m6f – 2m · Good_To_Soft
14th
10 Mar
Cheltenham · Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft
10 Mar
Cheltenham · Long Distance (2m+) · Good_To_Soft
8 Mar
Naas · Long Distance (2m+) · Soft_To_Heavy
7th