J P Murtagh

The numbers from the last twelve months are particularly telling. Fifty-four winners from 483 runners works out at roughly 1 in every 9 races, which sounds modest until you consider the sheer volume. Running nearly 500 horses in a single year means Murtagh is operating at serious scale, and converting at 11% across that workload is a sign of consistent, professional horsemanship rather than lucky streaks.

The most important relationship in his yard right now is with jockey Ben Coen. Forty-five wins from 310 rides together — winning roughly 1 in every 7 times they combine — is the kind of partnership that speaks to genuine trust and communication. When a trainer and jockey click at that level over hundreds of races, it usually means they are reading the same horses the same way. That is worth more than it sounds.

Tipperary stands out as a happy hunting ground. Five winners from 12 runners at the track is a conversion rate that would catch any punter's eye — winning nearly 1 in every 2 runners sent there. Whether it is the way Murtagh targets the course, or simply that his horses suit the track, it is the kind of local dominance that makes his runners there worth watching every single time.

The crown jewel of the operation so far is a Class 1 win at Ayr in September 2023 — one of the top races in Britain, and proof that this is not a yard content to pick up minor prizes. Reaching the top level only four years into training is rare. It suggests Murtagh is not just accumulating winners but actively pitching for the biggest occasions — and that, more than any statistic, is what makes his trajectory genuinely exciting to follow.