Rory Cleary

This season's haul of 19 winners from 341 races underlines just how busy Cleary is. He's getting on horses, putting in the work, and converting at a better rate than before. His most consistent professional relationship is with trainer Adrian McGuinness, for whom he has ridden 35 times and won twice — a 6% win rate that mirrors his overall season average exactly. It's a working partnership built on reliability rather than fireworks, the kind that keeps a jockey's diary full.

One area where Cleary genuinely stands out is in wet, muddy conditions. On soft ground he wins 9% of his races — 3 from 33 — which is half as good again as his overall average. That's not a fluke; some jockeys simply ride differently when the ground is testing, adjusting their pace and conserving energy in a way that suits certain horses. If Cleary has found that knack, it's a real asset.

The one partnership worth watching is with Apiary, where three races together have so far produced no wins. That's a small sample and not unusual — plenty of horse-and-jockey combinations take time to click, or simply never do. Whether that changes is one of the small storylines worth following as the season develops.

At 77 career winners in four years, Cleary is progressing at a professional but unspectacular pace. He's not yet a name that casual racegoers would recognise, but he is exactly the kind of consistent, improving jockey that trainers trust to do a job. The question is whether the upward curve continues.