Run The Numbers – Australian racing’s most improved in 2024/25
As the 2024/25 racing season runs out the clock, it is time for Run The Numbers’ second annual Australian racing’s most improved awards, where we look at which trainers, jockeys and sires have improved their performance the most on the previous season.
Lindsay Park is enjoying its most successful Australian racing season since 2018/19, with the trio of Hayes brothers recently surpassing 250 wins for the campaign.
That is more than twice the number of winners the stable notched (117) in 2021/22, the first year after patriarch David left to return to Hong Kong, with the number of starters since then jumping from 942 to 1572. Most significantly, the prize money banked has jumped from $8.4 million three years ago to $23.5 million.
Given those details, it won’t surprise that Ben, Will and JD Hayes are the most improved stable in the country when it comes to additional wins compared to last season. In 2023/24 they had 199 wins, while with only a few days remaining of this campaign, they are up to 253, a net gain of 54.
Further down the line, they have had 39 more seconds and 38 more thirds, with 331 additional starters, the largest growth of any stable. That greater scale saw them rewarded with over $6.3 million in additional prize money.
Second on the net win improvement list is Bjorn Baker, who has had a career-best season with 156 winners, 52 more than he compiled last season. His success was achieved without significant additional scale, with just 86 more runners this year than last.
That flow of additional success means Baker is the most improved trainer in Australia when it comes to additional prize money, which leapt by $11.2 million to $26.4 million. His winning strike rate also increased by 5 per cent to 20.1 per cent.
From a punting perspective, the Baker stable is the only one in the Top 10 trainers to have achieved a positive ROI on his horses, in his case 5.16 per cent.
Third, when it comes to increased wins was Western Australia-based Michael Grantham, whose own career-best season saw his success rocket from 25 wins to 76 wins, nearly trebling his prize money returns to $3.4 million, with close to double his total starters.
Annabel and Rob Archibald increased their number of wins by 47, having boosted their number of starters by 224, second only to the Hayes brothers when it comes to additional participation.
The increased scale is also working for them financially having secured $9.4 million more in prize money than last year, placing them second behind Baker on that metric and ahead of Ciaron Maher ($8.4 million).
The fifth greatest improver when it comes to winners has been Grahame Begg, whose 69 winners is 37 more than last season. He achieved that with only 56 more starters and had an astronomical 26.6 per cent strike rate.
2024/25 most improved stable by wins
2024/25 most improved stable by prize money
*As of July 27
Moving to the most improved jockeys and top of the list clearly is Western Australia-based Lucy Fiore, who has ridden a career-best 139 winners in 2024/25.
That total is more than twice as many as Fiore rode last season, with an overall improvement of 76 winners. She has had more opportunities, with 253 more rides, but her 15.5 per cent winning strike rate is her best in nearly a decade.
Lachlan King has ridden a career-high 77 winners this season, as he benefits from a strong association with emerging country Victoria trainer Ben Brisbourne. The pair have combined for 31 wins this season, with King riding 42 more winners in total, across 26 individual tracks.
Mollie Fitzgerald’s career is taking off at a rate of knots, improving from her first season of 49 winners with 88 in 2024/25, a jump of 39. She has ridden winners at 22 different tracks this season across country and provincial New South Wales. Her seasonal improvement is third only behind Fiore and King.
Angela Jones looks destined to become the first female jockey to win the Brisbane jockeys’ premiership – she holds a lead of two going into the final meeting on Wednesday, while her overall improvement in total wins this year has also been 39, to 112. Over half of those wins, 61, have come thanks to her association with Tony Gollan.
NSW-based jockey Luke Rolls has also improved his total by 39 from 43 to 82 winners this season. Primarily riding in the Northern Rivers region, he has enjoyed his most successful campaign.
When it comes to additional prize money banked by their runners, Ethan Brown is by far the most improved jockey, with $10.2 million extra. Craig Williams is second (plus-$7.5 million) and Tim Clark third with an extra $7.3 million.
2024/25 most improved jockey by wins
Finally, a look at which sires have increased their number of winners the most reveals Darley’s Too Darn Hot at the top with 46.
With two crops of racing age, he has had 58 individual winners this season, compared to 12 from his first two-year-old crop. Contemporary Pierata has increased his number of winners by 42.
Yes Yes Yes, another second-season sire, has improved his number of winners by 39, as has Darley’s Blue Point.
Grunt and Justify, whose oldest crops are four, had 38 extra winners this season compared to last. Significantly for Justify, he has only had 39 extra starters this season than last, while he was the most improved when it came to overall wins, with 85 more than last year,
Of the more experienced stallions, it was So You Think who showed the most improvement with 32 more winners and 79 more wins.
The greatest improvement shown by any sire in terms of progeny earnings was Darley’s Harry Angel with $10.1 million more than last year, while Fastnet Rock jumped $9.2 million – thanks largely to Via Sistina – and Per Incanto just short of $7 million.
2024/25 most improved stable by winners
*All data as of July 27
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