Sean Kirrane

This season tells the clearest story of where he stands right now. Forty-nine winners from 523 rides works out at roughly 1 in every 11 races — a 9% win rate that, across a huge volume of rides, shows he is trusted by trainers to do a job week in, week out. But the last two weeks suggest he may be hitting a purple patch: 1 winner from just 6 rides is a 17% return, nearly double his season average, and in racing, momentum like that tends to matter.

The relationship with trainer Tim Easterby is the engine room of his career. Thirty-one wins from 272 rides together — winning roughly 1 in every 9 — is a partnership built on mutual trust. Easterby is one of the most prolific trainers in the north of England, and having a regular berth with a yard of that size gives Kirrane a steady stream of opportunities that many young jockeys would envy.

Away from the numbers, there are two details that stand out. First, his record at Catterick Bridge: 7 winners from 25 rides there is a 28% win rate, and at a track that rewards local knowledge and tactical awareness, that kind of dominance is genuinely impressive — it means he wins more than 1 in every 4 races he rides there. Second, fast, dry ground suits him well. Eleven wins from 75 races on those conditions works out at 15%, well above his overall average, suggesting he is at his best when the pace is high and the racing is sharp.

The highlight of his career so far is a Class 1 victory at York — one of the most prestigious racecourses in Britain and a venue that can make a jockey's reputation. One top-level win in four years might sound modest, but for a jockey still finding his feet at the highest level, getting on the board at York at all is a marker worth noting. If the Easterby partnership keeps delivering and his form on fast ground continues, there could be more big days ahead.