Billy Loughnane: 'On my apprentice course I said I wanted to win the championship one day - but we didn't think it would be this year'

This interview by Lewis Porteous was originally published in June exclusively for Racing Post Members' Club subscribers and has been made free to read for users of the Racing Post app as our Sunday Read. Lewis spoke to Billy Loughnane and his father Mark about the teenage rider's incredible season and his ambitions for the future. Billy Loughnane rode out his claim at Kempton on Friday night, just 11 months on from taking his first rides.

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Back in November, Billy Loughnane was like a bear with a sore head. He was on a losing run of 26 rides and the wait for his first winner under rules was becoming unbearable.

"He kept saying, 'Dad, I need a winner,'" recalls his father, Mark. "We went away for a week to Dubai and on his last ride before we went he was beaten a nose at Lingfield. That trip from Lingfield to Birmingham airport was the longest two hours of my life – he was doing my head in!"

As is often the case, life looks a little rosier after a holiday and, returning to the track on a misty evening at Wolverhampton, Swiss Rowe put the young rider in the winner's enclosure for the first time. He was off and running.

Less than six months and 51 winners later, Loughnane is the hottest prospect in the weighing room. Already champion apprentice on the all-weather, he rode in his first Classic this month and his claim has been whittled down to 3lb.

The misery from November is certainly nowhere to be seen as we take a seat outside Lingfield's weighing room. Loughnane, 17, is a breath of fresh air. Bright and breezy, there's a smile plastered across his face from the word go as we discuss a career he has always dreamed of.

"Racing is literally my life," he confesses. "I started on a rocking horse and then went to Shetland ponies and I've been riding all my life. I went through phases and was focused on football when I was eight or nine, but I started showjumping when I was 11 and really got back into the horses. Then from 13 I was pony racing and always wanted to be a jockey.

"I used to study the form for Dad's runners even before I was riding and have always been horse mad."

Having initially trained with success in Ireland, his father has been based in Britain since 2011 and it wasn't uncommon to see Billy and his younger brother Jack snapping at their dad's ankles on a racecourse back in those early days.

"We do have a close bond," Billy says of the relationship with his dad. "There are ups and downs like most things and if he thinks I haven't given something a good ride I'll definitely know about it, but we do get on well. It was always routine to go with him to Wolverhampton every Saturday night.

"He's always been there to support me but he's never pushed me. He wouldn't let me pony race until I was 13 and this is very much what I've wanted to do, but a lot of my success has come from him."

Billy Loughnane has made a flying start to his career in the saddleCredit: Edward Whitaker

Things really started to take off for Billy in January. He had ridden six winners heading into the new year and things were ticking along nicely, but there was barely a day in January when he didn't ride a winner. He partnered 23 winners from 98 rides and it was impossible not to take notice.

"The idea was to give Billy some exposure and get him going, but did I think he'd ride the amount of winners he has? The answer is no," says Mark, responsible for ten of the 23 winners his son partnered in January. "I was hoping we'd rock into the summer with ten or 12 winners, but it just snowballed. For our family it's just unbelievable and when he rides a winner for someone else, it's like they're mine."

With an eye on this season's apprentice title on turf, Billy had to take a pull to preserve his riding allowance and in February headed to the United States to ride track work for a month.

"A bit of me didn't want to take my foot off the gas and I think Dad was the same but my agent, Shashi Righton, has won the title before and we realised it was the right thing to do," says Billy. "Going to America was an amazing experience.

"When I came back the plan was just to go steady away through March and hold on to my 5lb claim for the championship. We were only riding one horse a day but I still managed to have 13 winners. I'm not complaining but now I'm on to my 3lb claim."

The next challenge was switching from the all-weather to turf but, having come through the pony racing ranks, it was second nature to Loughnane, who won the first turf race of the year when Doddie's Impact landed the Brocklesby.

"I think that was key," he says. "People were questioning it as I hadn't ridden on turf and to get that winner in the first race of the season hopefully removed that doubt."

A delighted Billy Loughnane after riding Doddie's Impact to win the Brocklesby at Doncaster Credit: Getty Images

Chief among his goals this season is the apprentice title. Just like it was always his dream to ride professionally, the championship has been in his thoughts for a long time and, rather refreshingly, he's never been afraid to say as much.

"I was fearing that my claim was going too quickly but if I want to win the apprentice championship it's got to go," he says matter of factly. "On my apprentice course I even said I want to win it one day. We didn't think it would be this year but it's gone great and all systems go for it.

"There's a lot of competition but hopefully I can get the better of it. I've quite a few trainers who are using me and Dad gives me the flexibility to go where I need to on any given day. Where Shashi thinks is best to go, that's where we'll go, and no-one is tying me down. I'd like to pick up some rides in the nice races along the way, but the title is the main goal and I think I can do it."

Being apprenticed to his father's yard in Worcestershire arguably gives Loughnane an advantage over his title rivals. Whereas some riders have to fly the nest at a young age to take up an apprenticeship, there has been minimal upheaval in his home life, with the focus solely on his riding.

"My support network is great," he says. "Mum sorts everything for me really. I focus on my fitness and riding, and everything else is done for me. Dad drives me to the races, my agent books my rides and my jockey coach tells me if I'm not doing something right.

"We're all in unison and have the same goal. I can't thank everyone around me enough and all the trainers who keep putting me up."

Loughnane has been working with his coach, Rodi Greene, since he was 13 and the young rider trusts the former jump jockey as much as his family.

"He's been massive and I speak to him on the phone more than anyone," he says. "I could speak to him three times a day. Today we spoke at 8am to go through my three rides for the day. After my first two rides we had another chat and then I'll call him again on the way home. It will be the same again tomorrow."

The more you hear from him, the more obvious it becomes that Loughnane's lightning-quick start on the track has been years in the making. His father confirms as much, describing a young man for whom failure is not an option.

Mark Loughnane: hoping his son can make it to the topCredit: Alan Crowhurst

"This isn't a flash in the pan – he's been working on his fitness since he was 13," says Mark. "That's why Billy has got to where he has in six months. He's that focused and driven. I got up at 4.45am the other day and he was already in the gym at home. He wants to do it."

Physically, Billy is more in the mould of Adam Kirby or James Doyle than Oisin Murphy or William Buick, and it is going to take discipline for him to keep the scales steady. But he undoubtedly has the ambition and commitment to reach the summit.

"I've been riding racehorses at home since I was 11 and I've been watching my weight since I was 13," he says. "I knew I was probably going to get tall so have always had an eye on it.

"I've been on the simulator with my jockey coach once or twice a week since I was 13 and I'm fitness-mad. Loads goes into it behind the scenes and I've been working towards this since I was young."

His dad says: "His mum helps him with his diet and when he's doing light we're all doing light. We don't stuff our faces with pizza in the house, we all eat healthy because that's the way we are. His brother, Jack, plays football for Kidderminster Harriers to a good level and for both of them it's fit, fit, fit!"

A driver takes Billy to the yards of George Boughey and George Scott in Newmarket one morning a week, as well as to Ed Walker's stable in Lambourn, to ride out. Nothing would make his dad prouder were he to be retained by a big yard in the future.

"He's not just tied here and I'll not stop progression," says Mark. "There will come a day, hopefully, when he outgrows me, but I'm always here. Would I love to see him getting a job in a big yard, moving on and making something of himself? Of course I would."

Such conversations may be a little premature, but there's no such thing as convention where Billy Loughnane is concerned. He might be young, but boy is he ready for this.

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