Mr D G Lavery

This season has been a quieter one. Five winners from 56 rides works out at roughly 1 in every 11 races, a win rate of 9% that marks a noticeable step back from the 15% he was hitting this time last year. That kind of dip is worth watching — it can simply reflect tougher rides or thinner opportunities, and at this stage of a jockey's career, the quality and consistency of the horses you get put on matters enormously.

His most reliable source of winners has been the yard of trainer Gavin Cromwell, where Lavery has ridden to 5 wins from 40 rides together — a win rate of 12%, or roughly 1 in every 8 races. That's a meaningful partnership. When a jockey finds a trainer who trusts them with regular rides, it creates the kind of rhythm that builds confidence and results, and the Cromwell connection looks like the engine of his career so far.

One detail that stands out is his record on wet, muddy ground: 1 win from 7 races at 14%, which actually beats his overall average. It's a small sample, so it shouldn't be overstated, but some jockeys genuinely do ride with more conviction when conditions get testing — sitting quieter, conserving energy, letting a horse find its feet in the mud rather than fighting it. Whether that's the case here is hard to say from the numbers alone, but it's a thread worth following.

Twenty-two career winners in four years is a modest total, and Lavery is clearly still in the stage where every winner counts and every good ride in front of the right people matters. The slight dip this season means he'll be working to prove last year's form was no fluke. But the groundwork is there — an established trainer partnership, a hint of ability in tough conditions, and enough experience now to know what winning feels like.