Monday, June 29, 2026
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It has taken him all season, but 4-time champion trainer Caspar Fownes has hit the top of our trainer ratings as he simultaneously edges clear in the official title race for the 2025-26 season.
Fownes has been near the top of our ratings for much of the season, while Mark Newnham, Francis Lui, Danny Shum and John Size swapped around the top rank between them, but has finally got to a narrow lead. Whether he maintains that spot in our ratings, he has gone five clear with five meetings to run in the official race with Verbier's win on Saturday - not an insurmountable lead but a healthy one.
The big improver for our ratings has been Cody Mo, currently matching Fownes as the most successful trainer in recent weeks, with 14 wins from his last 100 runners.
On our jockey ratings, Joao Moreira has narrowed the gap behind Zac Purton - no easy task when he is riding as a stable-retained jockey, whose rides mostly come from one yard, but it does help that Fownes is his retaining trainer.
His wins are coming from a restricted number of opportunities - and that probably isn't going to change - but it would be tantalising to see him on a club jockey contract again to give Purton a bit to think about. The HKJC has already announced the club contracts for next season, with the only change Ethan Brown not returning.
There was no application from Fownes for a stable rider for next season, although the option is still open.
(Note, apprentice jockey ratings reflect performances with their allowance "built in". As their claim reduces and they compete on a more equal footing, we expect their rating to deteriorate unless they are top class riders.)
​These ratings are updated regularly and designed to reflect current form but with past figures also putting a brake on hot-streak performers or uplifting a long-term quality player having a quiet run.