Michael Chapman

The numbers tell a tough story across the board. His win rate has slipped from an already modest 2% last year — roughly 1 win in every 50 races — to nothing at all in the current campaign. The standout partnership in his yard is with Fast Deal, a horse he has saddled for 40 races together, producing just 1 win from all those attempts. That is a long road for a single result, and it gives a sense of the level Chapman is currently operating at.

He has been training since 2021, so this is still a relatively young career, and lean spells are not unusual for smaller yards finding their feet. But 27 runners without a winner this season is the kind of record that makes the next winner, whenever it comes, feel genuinely worth celebrating.