Jake Thomas Coulson

It wasn't always this bleak. Last year, Coulson was winning roughly 1 in every 33 races — a modest return, but a return nonetheless. That 3% win rate was never going to set the world alight, but it represented a yard that was at least competitive. The slide to zero this season suggests something has gone wrong, whether that's a run of bad luck, a weaker string of horses, or something more structural within the operation. From the outside, it's hard to know which — but the numbers don't lie.

The most telling detail in Coulson's record is his partnership with Gibberwell. Two wins from 32 races together sounds underwhelming, but it means Gibberwell accounts for every meaningful result this yard can point to as a genuine highlight. That's a lot of weight to place on one horse, and it says something about the depth — or lack of it — in the wider team.

His most frequent collaboration with a jockey is with Tabitha Worsley, who has ridden 19 times for the yard without a single winner. Nineteen rides is a real working partnership, not a one-off arrangement, which means both trainer and jockey have had plenty of opportunities to find the right race for the right horse. So far, it hasn't clicked.

Coulson is still only four years into what is a notoriously difficult profession, and plenty of trainers have weathered barren runs before going on to build something solid. But the gap between where he was and where he is now is wide enough to be concerning. The next winner, whenever it comes, will matter more than most.