Level-headed Loughnane could set more records this year

Billy Loughnane will realise a lifelong dream at Ascot on Saturday when he becomes the youngest rider in over a century to be crowned Britain’s champion jockey.

Less than four years after having his first competitive ride on a racecourse, ‘Billy The Kid’ has climbed Everest to dethrone five-time champion Oisin Murphy aged just 20, making him the youngest jockey to claim the title since Charlie Elliott in 1923.

For a young man whose first Christmas present was a rocking horse and his second a pony, it is destiny fulfilled. But even Loughnane himself admits the speed of his meteoric rise has been beyond what he could have hoped for.

“It’s what I’ve always wanted to do and I’ve never really looked any other way,” he said on a Great British Racing media call.

“From the age of six to when I was 12 I used to go racing with my dad (trainer Mark Loughnane) every Saturday to Wolverhampton and I’d be distraught if he didn’t have runner!

“Nearly four years ago when I was going up to Newcastle for my first ride, my aim then was just to have a few winners really. If anyone had said that day that four years later I’d be where I am now I’d have said they were absolutely crazy.

“I love my job and I love riding horses – it’s all I ever wanted to do. It’s amazing that I’ve found something that is a passion of mine and to be able to do it as a job as well. Then when you get big success it’s even better.”

What at one stage looked set to be a nip-and-tuck battle with Murphy over the summer ultimately turned into a rout, allowing Loughnane to enjoy something of a victory parade in the lead-up to this weekend.

He said: “The last two weeks have been nice really, I’ve been able to enjoy it a bit more.

“I wouldn’t say I was tense before that, but obviously there was a bit of pressure on with the position I was in and having come so far I didn’t want to let it slip in the last little bit.”

With the championship signed, sealed and delivered, Loughnane has one eye on an even more historic achievement, with Sir Gordon Richards’ record of 269 winners in a calendar year, set in 1947, very much in his sights.

“I’m just going to take the rest of this month and November and then assess at the start of December how realistic it is,” Loughnane, who was also champion apprentice three years ago, continued.

“I’m not blinkers on full blasting at the moment, but I’m going to keep riding as much as possible, we’ll see how the next couple of months go and make a plan then. I’ll definitely be giving it my best shot until the start of December and hopefully I’m within striking distance then.”

As well as being a phenomenal year numbers-wise, Loughnane has also enjoyed five Group One victories, three of those provided by what may already be the horse of his lifetime, Bow Echo.

Winner of the 2000 Guineas, St James’s Palace and Sussex Stakes for the rider’s boss and close friend George Boughey, the unbeaten three-year-old is now preparing for a career at stud, but has given his jockey days he will never forget.

He said: “It’s a dream come true to find a horse like him. It’s obviously gutting we didn’t see him again for the rest of the year and won’t see him next year, but I’m very lucky to have been part of him and winning the Guineas was the best buzz I’ve ever had on a racecourse.

“George is a very good mentor as well as a very good trainer and he’s become a very good friend of mine as well. I speak to George every day without fail, he’s probably one of the people I contact most and I speak to him about absolutely everything.”

And so comes the question that is inevitably asked of every sportsman that wins big – what next?

Loughnane insists Saturday night celebrations will involve a low-key meal – “I’m not a big drinker or partier” – before he continues his relentless pursuit of winners between now and the end of the year.

Looking ahead to next season, it seems unlikely he will be giving up his crown without a fight.

“I’ll get this weekend and the winter out of the way and reassess it next year,” he added.

“I’m a very competitive person. I’ve made no plans with my agent or my team yet, but I’m not squashing the idea of going for the championship again.”