Joey Haynes

The numbers tell an honest story. Haynes is winning roughly 1 in every 20 races this season — 13 winners from 258 rides — and that 5% figure is a noticeable step back from the 9% he posted last year. In a sport where momentum matters and trainers are always weighing up their options, a dip like that is something he will want to reverse quickly. The volume of rides is there; the conversions just haven't followed.

One place where he does convert is Lingfield Park. Four winners from 31 rides might not sound dramatic, but Lingfield is a tricky, turning track that catches plenty of jockeys out, and Haynes clearly reads it well. That kind of course form is exactly what gets trainers' attention when they are looking for a jockey who knows their way around a specific venue. On fast, dry ground he is even more eye-catching — 1 winner from just 7 races at 14%, or roughly 1 in every 7, suggesting the quicker surface genuinely suits his style.

His most significant working relationship is with trainer Scott Dixon, and it is a partnership built on sheer mileage. Five wins from 100 rides together represents a 5% win rate — modest on paper, but 100 rides with any single trainer is a real statement of trust. Dixon keeps putting him up, and that loyalty counts for something in a profession where phone calls dry up fast when form turns.

The partnership with Walking On Clouds is one to watch for different reasons — four races together and still waiting for that breakthrough win. Whether the horse simply hasn't found its best form or the combination just hasn't clicked yet, it is the kind of unfinished business that jockeys and yards quietly want to resolve. Haynes is young enough in his career that a dip in one season is a chapter, not a conclusion. The groundwork is done; the question now is whether he can turn a decent career into a really good one.