By Ray Hickson
He's been called a teen sensation, a prodigy and even a future Ryan Moore – to be fair, but British jockey Billy Loughnane is looking forward to starting his Sydney adventure at Rosehill on Saturday.
Irish-born Loughnane only started racing in 2022 and rode his first winner on November 28th of that year, making what has happened since then quite remarkable.
The 18-year-old became a master apprentice in England in 2023 and scored 130 winners. This year there were a further 162 winners – a tally only exceeded by Oisin Murphy and Rossa Ryan.
He has 299 career wins and has already had four Group 1 placings and a couple of wins at Royal Ascot, including the Group 2 Coventry Stakes aboard the underdog Rashabar.
Billy Loughnane is a modern name in the Sydney riding ranks as the British star hoop player makes his local debut at Rosehill on Saturday. (Image: Racing Post).
“I've had a great two years since getting my driving license and the last six to eight months in England have been great. I got rides in Group 1s and substantial races and traveled all over the world,” said Loughnane.
“If you had told me it had only been two years since I had my first winner and I had done almost 300 since then I would have laughed, but it has been a great two years and hopefully we can build on that.
“I’ve been watching a lot of races in Australia over the last three or four months and I knew I was coming over and I’m looking forward to it.”
Loughnane, whose father Mark is a trainer, arrived in Sydney on Sunday and completed track work at Randwick on Monday and Tuesday before sending a few horses to trials in Canterbury.
He has ridden for Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and for John O'Shea and Tom Charlton's Yards and his first two rides were for O'Shea and Charlton on Good Banter in the TAB Handicap (2000m) and Captain Amelia in the Captivant @ Kia Ora Handicap (1300m).
“I'll learn a lot more after racing a few times, but from watching the racing and speaking to a few Australian jockeys, the gate speed is a lot faster out here,” he said.
“They seem to get into the right position a little quicker here than in England and the tracks are a little tighter, so I can learn from that.
“After getting to know the horses I ride, they feel like they have good chances and have drawn good boxes, which helps.
“I’m used to riding horses at home that I’ve never seen before, but it helps.”
Although he hasn't set a specific goal for where he stays, Loughnane describes himself as a competitive type and would be disappointed if he couldn't ride a winner or two.
Loughnane is currently booked to stay until Christmas, but has the option to extend as he doesn't have to be back in the UK until February, depending on how much fun he has.
“I would definitely be upset if I didn't come out on top, but I didn't have too many expectations,” he said.
“I don’t know how I’ll progress and what support I’ll get, but I want to ride as many winners as possible while I’m down here.”
It's no coincidence that Loughnane is managed by Shaun Flaherty, who looks after Tom Marquand's bookings when he's in Australia and he says 'Aussie Tom' has made preparing for the trip easier.
“Tom helped me a lot with travel, accommodations and things like that before I got here,” he said.
“Tom’s agent looks after me, so he helped me quite a bit to get me on the road.”
All fields, forms and replays for Saturday's Rosehill meeting
