Mr J Costello

The bulk of his experience has come through a steady partnership with trainer A J Martin, who has put him up 14 times. That kind of repeated trust from a yard matters more than it might seem — trainers don't keep booking a jockey out of charity, and 14 rides together suggests Martin sees something worth developing. The wins haven't arrived yet, but the opportunity to keep riding is how jockeys improve.

Every successful rider in the sport went through a stage exactly like this. The first winner, when it comes, tends to arrive without warning — and at that point, two years of groundwork suddenly starts to look like preparation rather than struggle.