Martin Dunne

His overall tally of 28 career winners in two years might sound like a small number, but context matters here. Building a stable from scratch takes time — sourcing the right horses, establishing owners, developing a system. What Dunne has done is accelerate that process noticeably, and the current season's numbers suggest the yard is operating at a meaningfully higher level than it was twelve months ago.

One area where Dunne has a clear edge is when the weather turns and the ground gets wet and muddy. On soft or heavy ground, his horses win 23% of their races — nearly 1 in every 4 — going 3 from 13 in those conditions. That's a significant jump above his overall average and suggests either a deliberate preference for horses who handle testing conditions, or simply a sharp eye for when to run them. Either way, it's a pattern worth noting.

His most reliable individual partnership is with Ancient State, who has won 2 of their 8 races together. That might not sound dramatic, but a 25% win rate in a shared partnership is well above the yard's average and points to a horse and trainer combination that genuinely clicks. Jockey Darragh Keenan has been his most used pilot this season, riding 17 times for the yard and winning twice — a win rate of 12%, which broadly mirrors Dunne's overall numbers and hints at a working relationship that's becoming more settled and consistent.

The story here isn't one of sudden, headline-grabbing success. It's something arguably more interesting: a trainer who has done the hard yards in year one and come back in year two clearly sharper, better organised, and winning at nearly three times the rate. If that trajectory continues, people will stop calling Martin Dunne a promising newcomer and start calling him something else entirely.