Dave Roberts

The partnership with jockey Lee Edwards looks central to that progress. Together they have combined for 6 wins from 31 rides, a win rate of 19% — just under 1 in every 5 — which is a genuinely strong number at any level of the sport. When Roberts and Edwards team up, something tends to happen. That consistency between trainer and jockey matters more than casual observers might realise; a jockey who understands how a yard's horses are prepared, and a trainer who trusts a jockey's instincts on the track, can squeeze out results that don't show up in the raw data until you look closely.

Worcester has become a particularly happy hunting ground. Roberts has sent out 3 winners from just 10 runners there, meaning nearly 1 in every 3 of his horses at that course has won. For a trainer four years into the job, dominating a track like that is a real calling card — it hints at a sharp understanding of what suits that course, whether that's the way it rides, the distances, or the type of race.

His standout horse has been Play Pretend, with whom he has shared 2 wins from 13 races. That's a modest win rate on paper, but 13 races together is a meaningful sample — it points to a horse that Roberts knows inside out, and that loyalty and familiarity in a small yard often tells you something about how the operation is run.

Roberts is still a relatively new name in training, but the trajectory is clear. The wins are coming more often, the jockey partnership is producing, and at least one track looks like home territory. For a yard that was finding its feet not long ago, this season feels like the moment things have properly clicked.