Jo Davis

The relationship that defines Davis's career so far is the one with Jolie Baie, a horse that has won 4 of the 18 races they have tackled together. That is a remarkable return — winning more than 1 in every 5 outings with a single horse suggests a trainer who really understands what she has in front of her, picking the right races at the right moments. For a yard still finding its feet, having a horse like that in the string is invaluable.

Her most regular jockey partnership is with Gavin Sheehan, who has been aboard for 16 of her runners and converted 2 of them into winners — a win rate of around 1 in 8. That is a decent working relationship, and the consistency of the booking suggests a genuine trust between the two. Sheehan is an experienced rider, and having a settled jockey who knows the horses well is one of those quiet advantages that does not always show up in the numbers.

Davis is still relatively early in her training career, and the honest truth is that four years in, the trajectory matters more than any single season. The dip this year is real, but the Jolie Baie record in particular shows she is capable of getting results when conditions are right. The next twelve months will tell us a great deal about whether this is a yard settling into a groove or one still searching for it.