Alastair Ralph

This year he has sent out 25 winners from 206 runners, winning roughly 1 in every 8 races — a 12% win rate that marks a meaningful step up from 9% last season. That kind of improvement doesn't happen by accident. It reflects better horses, sharper preparation, or simply a yard that has found its rhythm. Probably all three.

One track where Ralph's horses consistently show up ready to perform is Musselburgh, the tight, flat circuit on the east coast of Scotland. Three winners from just five runners there is a remarkable return — that's 3 from 5, or 60% — and suggests he either targets the track carefully or simply knows how to have his horses spot-on for that particular test. Either way, if one of his runners lines up at Musselburgh, it is worth paying attention.

His record on fast, dry ground also stands out: 1 win from 3 races in those conditions, which is a small sample but a 33% win rate — winning 1 in every 3 — is the kind of figure that gets people talking. Dry ground clearly suits at least part of his string.

Jonathan Burke is the jockey Ralph turns to most often, and together they have produced 6 wins from 62 rides — roughly 1 in every 10. That's a solid, dependable partnership rather than a fireworks display, the kind of combination built on trust and familiarity. Burke clearly understands what the yard needs from him. The pairing with Following Chapter has been less fruitful — just 1 win from 7 races together — though the fact Ralph has kept returning to that combination suggests he sees something in the horse worth persevering with.

A hundred winners in four years, a rising win rate, and a particular talent for a Scottish seaside track — Ralph is a trainer still writing his story, but the early chapters are genuinely promising.