J R Jenkins

The current season tells a story of grinding it out rather than setting the world alight. Six winners from 180 runners works out at roughly 1 in every 30 races, a win rate of 3% that has dipped slightly from 4% last year. To put that in context, a top trainer might win 1 in every 4 or 5 races — so Jenkins is operating in a competitive environment where every winner has to be earned. That said, volume matters, and sending out 180 runners in a season means this is an active, busy yard.

The standout story is the partnership with Bang On The Bell. Nine wins from 70 races together is a genuinely striking number — that is a 13% win rate with one specific horse, which towers over everything else in Jenkins' record. When a trainer and a single horse click like that, it usually means the trainer has figured out exactly what that horse needs: the right trips, the right conditions, the right moments to ask the question. That kind of relationship is rarer than it sounds and is probably the highlight of Jenkins' career so far.

On the ground, the numbers point clearly toward normal conditions — 5 of this season's 6 winners have come when the track is riding as expected, not too wet, not too firm. That works out at 5 wins from 98 races on normal ground, or roughly 1 in every 20. That is where Jenkins' horses are at their most comfortable, and it is worth bearing in mind when the ground dries out or after a spell of rain.

The most regular jockey partnership is with Jonny Peate, who has ridden for the yard 65 times this season for 3 winners — wins about 1 in every 22 rides together, a 5% win rate. That is better than the yard's overall average, suggesting Peate brings something useful to the combination. Jenkins is not yet a name that commands attention in the big race programmes, but with 47 winners already banked and a horse like Bang On The Bell in the mix, the foundations are there.