G M Lyons

The numbers back up the ambition. Over a four-year career, Lyons has sent out 264 winners — an extraordinary volume for someone still so early in their time as a trainer. This season alone, 43 winners have come from 293 runners, which works out at roughly 1 in every 7 races, or 15%. That is a slight dip from last year's 19%, but in a sport where margins are everything, producing a winner from roughly 1 in 5 races in your previous season puts you in serious company. The slight softening this year is worth watching, though it is a long way from a slump.

One relationship stands out above all others in the yard: Colin Keane. The jockey has ridden 132 times for Lyons and come back with 23 winners — that is 17%, or almost 1 in every 6 rides. That kind of consistency across a large number of races is not luck, it is a genuine working partnership where horse, jockey and trainer are all pulling in the same direction. When Keane climbs aboard a Lyons-trained runner, the evidence says it is worth paying attention.

Then there is Faiyum. Three wins from six races together is a 50% win rate — remarkable by any standard — and it speaks to how well this particular horse has been placed and prepared. Finding the right race for the right horse at the right time is the art of training, and that record suggests Lyons has this one figured out.

One interesting wrinkle in the data: on very wet, muddy ground, Lyons's runners have won 1 from 3 races, a 33% clip. That is a small sample, but it hints that the yard may genuinely thrive when conditions turn soft — something worth remembering when the forecast looks grim. Four years in, one top-level winner, and a clear upward trajectory. G M Lyons is a name to know.