Tom Gretton

The improvement has a shape to it, too. Gretton's runners on wet, muddy ground have been quietly devastating: 2 wins from just 5 races, meaning he wins 40% of the time when conditions get heavy. That is a remarkable number. Most trainers at any level would take that. It suggests either a shrewd eye for entering horses when conditions suit, or a string that genuinely loves the mud — possibly both. His record at Huntingdon tells a similar story of someone who knows his patch: 3 winners from 6 runners there, which is as good as it sounds.

The horse who has defined these early years is Overabottleofred, with whom Gretton has struck up a genuine partnership. Three wins from 12 races together is a meaningful record — this is clearly a horse the yard knows inside out, and that familiarity shows in the results. Meanwhile, jockey Robert Dunne has been the stable's most regular pilot, though the combination has produced 3 wins from 28 rides together, around 1 in every 9, suggesting there may be room yet to grow that partnership into something more potent.

Twenty-seven winners in four years is a modest total in the grand scheme of racing, but the direction of travel is what matters here. Gretton is not a trainer who has plateaued — he is one who has just found another gear. If the progression from last season to this one is anything to go by, keeping an eye on where his runners line up over the next twelve months looks like very good advice.