"It makes no difference who you put on a donkey......it's still a donkey", a recent quote from a Racing identity.

Fact or Fiction?

I ran a test over two years results for SP $50+ starters. I used Trainers and Jockeys rated as excellent and poor.
The results:

Excellent Trainer or Jockey.......0.525% Win Strike Rate

Poor Trainer or Jockey.....0.48% Win Strike Rate

Only a miniscule 0.045% advantage to the better class of Trainer/Jockey.

Consensus opinion: The best Trainer & Jockey cannot 'LIFT' a 'Poor' horse to a better performance. Now I just know, that some will disagree with that premise, so what about at the other end of the spectrum?

For horses with a SP <= $3:

Excellent Trainer or Jockey.......39.475% Win Strike Rate

Poor Trainer or Jockey.......36.815% Win Strike Rate

So a turnaround at the Favourite end. An excellent Trainer/Jockey makes for a 2.66% better Strike Rate which will add up to a real dollar improvement.