Patrick G Kelly

The most striking feature of Kelly's record is his long-running partnership with Friends N Commerce, a horse the yard has saddled in 23 races together without visiting the winner's enclosure. That is a remarkable level of commitment to a single horse — 23 races is not a short-term experiment, it is a relationship built over serious time and effort. Whether that persistence reflects genuine belief that a win is coming or simply a lack of alternatives is hard to say, but it dominates the yard's recent story in a way that is hard to ignore.

Four years into training, Kelly is still searching for the kind of result that changes a small yard's fortunes. Every trainer starts somewhere, and plenty of successful careers have been built through lean early years. But with no winners from 14 runners this season and that same total across the past 12 months, the priority right now is simple: find a way to get one across the line.