Mickey Bowen

The part worth paying attention to right now is what Bowen has been doing over the past fortnight. Six winners from 23 runners — that's more than 1 in every 4 — against a season average of 1 in 7. When a trainer's short-term numbers are running nearly double their own season average, it usually means the yard is in good nick: horses are healthy, fit, and being placed well. Punters and racing fans alike tend to follow form spikes like this closely, because they don't last forever.

His most important working relationship is with jockey James Bowen, who has been in the saddle for 21 of those career wins across 116 rides together — winning roughly 1 in every 5 and a half times they team up. That kind of consistency between a trainer and jockey is built on trust and communication. They know each other's instincts, and it shows in the numbers. When you see the Bowen-Bowen combination declared, it's a combination that has already proven it can get the job done.

The one partnership that hasn't quite clicked yet is with Off The Jury, where the pair have managed just 1 win from 7 races together. That's a 1 in 7 return from what is presumably one of the yard's more notable horses, which suggests either the right race hasn't come along yet, or there's still a puzzle to be solved. It's the kind of stat that keeps a trainer honest — a reminder that not every partnership writes the script you'd hope for. Still, with the yard firing at its current rate and Bowen only four years into what already looks like a serious training career, there's every reason to think the best chapters are still to come.