'The 2,000 Guineas was a pipe-dream - but he still excites me and there are plenty of nice races in his future'

Clive Cox has enjoyed some huge victories in his time – think back to the likes of Lethal Force's big sprint double in 2013, My Dream Boat's Prince of Wales's Stakes heroics in 2016 and Harry Angel's July Cup success in 2017 – yet never in a single season had he pocketed more prize-money than he did in 2024.

Most encouragingly for the future, Cox's two biggest paydays came from two-year-olds who are both reported to have done well over the winter, with Diligently and The Dragon King landing valuable sales races at York and Newmarket respectively. Those wins took Cox's earnings on home soil to a career-high £1.7 million – and when money amassed from international races is factored in, the total was only just shy of £2m.

Cox says: "It was a fantastic year and we were able to follow on from the year before, when we landed our 1,000th winner.