Tom Dascombe

The highlight of his career so far came at Doncaster on 23 October 2021 — a win in one of the top races in Britain. Landing a Class 1 on your watch at any stage is a significant achievement; doing it in your debut year as a trainer borders on remarkable. Doncaster is one of racing's great venues, with a history and atmosphere that separates it from a routine afternoon at the track. That result announced Dascombe as someone to take seriously, not just a name filling out a racecard.

On a day-to-day level, one of his most interesting calling cards is what he does at Lingfield Park. Four winners from just 9 runners there amounts to nearly 1 in every 2 horses he sends — an extraordinary conversion rate that suggests he either knows exactly which horses suit the track or times his runs there with unusual precision. Most trainers would be thrilled with 1 in 4. Getting close to 1 in 2 at any course is the kind of statistic that makes other professionals stop and take note.

His most reliable weapon in the saddle is Pierre-Louis Jamin, who has partnered his horses to 12 wins from 100 rides together — the same 1-in-9 rate as the yard's overall numbers, which tells you this is a partnership built on genuine understanding rather than coincidence. He also performs noticeably well when conditions are normal underfoot — 6 wins from 34 races on standard ground, winning at 18%, or roughly 1 in every 6, compared to his overall average. That suggests his horses are prepared to show their best when the track isn't throwing up any surprises, which in turn suggests a yard that does the basics very well.