Where else to start a discussion with an 18-year-old in August than results week? There were no exams for Billy Loughnane this summer but he wants to recall his big successes in the classroom.
‘All my friends are very clever, they’ve done their A-levels and are off to university,’ says the young man whose verve and style in the saddle have been lighting up Britain’s racetracks.
‘I passed my GCSEs. I had to! My mum told me if I didn’t pass, I wasn’t getting my apprentice licence. So I made sure I passed. English, maths, the sciences and then my four options.’
A proud smile emerges as he continues. Loughnane recently moved from the family home in Kidderminster to Newmarket, the home of racing, but those hours buried in books paid off.
‘I’m well able to cook,’ he declares. ‘I took food science. I based my picks around my future career. I chose PE for the physical side of being a jockey. Then I took food sciences for knowing what I can eat and French in case I ended up getting rides in France. I thought I might as well take something that was going to benefit me.’
Billy Loughnane did well in the classroom and is now shining on the racecourse
The insight is revealing. Talent alone is never enough to propel young athletes to the top and it is clear the foundations behind Loughnane, laid by his Dad, Mark, and Mum, Clare, are firm.
We will talk soon of how life has changed for him since that glorious week at Royal Ascot, when a worldwide audience became familiar with Billy the Kid, but since we are on the subject of mindset, another day at the Berkshire course is significant.
Soprano, a filly trained by his main employer George Boughey, had been the second leg of his Royal meeting double but on July 27 she and Loughnane finished fourth in a race in which he felt they could have come second. He was angry with himself.
‘You can always improve,’ he says. ‘The bad days are equally as important as the good days to me, 100 per cent. If you aren’t working on rectifying mistakes, you’ll keep making them, so I’m very hard on myself.
‘You learn in this weighing room from the other guys 24/7 — it’s their track craft, the things they do on a horse, off the horse. What they do of a morning. It’s a very open space in terms of support. I go to the gym every day, I do a Wattbike for half an hour and a PT session. I’ve had to really sharpen up. I’ve been in here nearly two years and I’ve had to grasp it quick. I’ve grown up a lot.’
Youngster starred on Rashabar to win the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot back in June
It has also helped that he’s won a lot. If 2023 was exceptional and saw him crowned Champion Apprentice, 2024 has been even better.
Rashabar, an 80-1 winner of the Coventry Stakes, and Soprano, who obliged at 14-1 in the Sandringham Stakes, showcased his talent on the biggest stage but he’s been doing the same on the run of the mill days, too.
So far in August, Loughnane has ridden nine winners. He thundered past 100 in a calendar year on Wednesday night when the Boughey-trained Brasil Power was successful at Kempton.
Just as significant is the fact he now has the influential Tony Hind, a man who has helped make champion jockeys out of Ryan Moore, William Buick, Richard Hughes and Jim Crowley, booking his rides. ‘A hundred winners in the calendar year was my goal,’ says Loughnane, who will be in action at Newmarket on Saturday after riding a double at Newbury on Friday. ‘On October 24, I will have been riding for two years. I’d like to have 250 (career) winners before then.
‘In time, the dream would be for people to speak about me in the way they speak about Ryan Moore now. He’s different level, every young jockey wants to be like him.’
Given his tally is currently 239, it looks a sure thing that he will get there, but just as significant is the fact that he wants to hunt down Buick and Tom Marquand, who are just ahead of him in the jockeys standings.
Loughnane also won on Soprano, showcasing his talent on the world’s biggest stage
‘I’ve been around the top five for a while,’ he adds. ‘Oisin (Murphy) is going to win it but I’m going to push for the top three. It would be crazy if I could do that. I’m pleased with top five but you have to keep pushing.’
The interview is momentarily interrupted when a lady in the weighing room at Chester, where we speak, recognises him. ‘I just wanted to say hello,’ she tells him. ‘You’re a star man, everybody loves you!’
Loughnane is genuinely taken aback but this is part and parcel of how life could turn out. Never mind A-levels, he’s head for the A-list of his profession.
‘It’s nice everyone is taking notice,’ he says. ‘Yes, Ascot was great and it’s been great for getting my name out there. But me? I just want to be the best.’
Billy Loughnane is coming to a Raceday near you. To find your nearest fixture visit www.greatbritishracing.com
