Daisy Hitchins

What's particularly encouraging is the direction of travel. Last year her win rate sat at 9% — already respectable for someone so new to the job — and this season she's pushed that up to 11%. In training, improvement like that rarely happens by accident. It tends to mean a trainer is getting sharper at placing horses in the right races, getting them fit at the right time, and learning quickly from what works.

One thing that stands out in her numbers is how well her horses perform when conditions underfoot are a little softer — think slightly damp, slower ground after rain. In those conditions she's won 4 races from just 20, which is a 20% win rate, or 1 in every 5. That's nearly double her overall average, and it's the kind of edge that a sharp punter would file away. It may reflect the type of horses she trains, or simply that she times their runs well when the ground suits.

Her most reliable partnership in the saddle is with jockey Mr Robbie David. Together they've combined for 9 wins from 66 rides — that's roughly 1 in every 7, a 14% win rate that comfortably beats her yard's overall average. When a trainer and jockey find a rhythm like that, it usually means strong communication and a shared understanding of how to ride each horse. It's a combination worth watching whenever the two team up.

Two years in, 25 career winners, and a measurably improving record — Hitchins is still at the very start of what could be a long training career, but the foundations look solid. The next step will be whether she can start placing horses in bigger races and competing at a higher level. For now, she looks like exactly the kind of quietly improving trainer who rewards those paying close attention.