James M Barcoe

Where things get more interesting is Cork. Barcoe has sent out 3 winners from just 9 runners there — that is 1 in every 3, a remarkable hit rate that dwarfs his overall figures and suggests he either knows the track well, targets it smartly, or both. For context, a trainer winning 1 in 3 anywhere is something serious stables would be proud of. It is the kind of local knowledge that quietly matters in racing, and it is worth paying attention to whenever one of his horses turns up at Cork.

Barcoe also appears to have a good read of the ground. On slightly wet or soft conditions, his runners win 3 from 36 — around 1 in every 12 races — which is more than double his overall rate. That gap between his figures on soft ground and his general record is meaningful: it points to a trainer who knows which of his horses handle those conditions and picks his spots accordingly.

His partnership with Spellacy's Cross stands out as the most notable individual story in his yard so far. Two wins from 16 races together might not sound like a lot, but the consistency of the partnership — the horse keeps coming back, the trainer keeps running it — suggests a genuine working relationship between stable and animal. It is the sort of combination that can quietly land a race when conditions fall right.

Less easy to explain is the record with jockey Kieran Callaghan. Twenty-three rides together and not a single win is a surprising blank, given that Callaghan is clearly the team's go-to rider. It does not mean the partnership is broken, but it is a number that will need to change for Barcoe to push his overall figures in the right direction over the next season or two.