William Durkan

The highlight of his career so far came at Uttoxeter in March 2022, when he won a Class 1 race — one of the top races in Britain. For a trainer still in their second year, landing one of those is a serious statement. Most trainers operate their entire careers without ever getting near that level, so to have ticked that box so early puts Durkan in an interesting position. Whether he can reach those heights again is the question his next few seasons will answer.

His most reliable working relationship is with jockey Philip Byrnes, who has partnered Durkan's horses on 28 occasions and ridden 5 winners — a win rate of 18%, or almost 1 in every 5 rides. That's a strong number. When a jockey and trainer click, it's usually because the trainer knows how to brief well and the jockey listens. Five wins from 28 rides suggests exactly that kind of trust. Worth noting too is that Durkan's runners appear to handle slightly soft, wet ground well — a small sample of 3 races has produced 1 win, a 33% win rate that any trainer would take.

The partnership with Touch The Moon has so far produced 1 win from 6 races together, which on paper looks unremarkable. But six runs together means this is a horse Durkan clearly believes in — trainers don't keep running a horse if they've given up on it. Whether that relationship eventually produces more is one of the more interesting loose threads in the yard at the moment.

Thirty winners in four years, a top-level prize already on the board, and a win rate that's moving in the right direction. Durkan is a trainer who looks like he's figuring it out.