The Clinton Binda-trained two-year-old Qhawe Lami provided Calvin Habib with a winner in his first meeting back from Singapore (JC Photos)

Calvin Habib Makes A Winning Return

Todays’s fourth race at Turffontein Inside, a Maiden Plate over 1000m, was an intriguing affair in that it was fought out by two jockeys who had both departed South Africa for green pastures during this season, but had returned upon discovering the grass was not greener on the other side.

Calvin Habib could not handle racing only once a week in Singapore and this was his first meeting back after cutting his sojourn short to just three months.

Craig Zackey has been back in SA since early March after cutting his successful Graded-winning sojourn to New Zealand short to just a four month stint.

Habib had a ride in the second so this was just his second ride back.

He was on the Clinton Binda-trained Hollywood Syndicate-owned Ridgemont-bred Duke Of Marmalade two-year-old gelding Qhawe Lami, who had failed in his last start in a Grade 3 over 1100m, but before that had finished a close up third in a Listed race over 1000m.

It augured well he was dropping back 100m to 1000m, although he had a tricky draw of six and started at odds of 5/2.

Zackey was aboard the Johan Janse van Vuuren-trained three-year-old first-timer Empress Game, a Geoff Armitage-bred Pathfork filly who is a full-sister to Esquevelle, a three-time winner who won on debut over 1160m.

Empress Game was the subject of a flood of support, shortening from an opening 17/2 into 18/10 favourite.

She was drawn in pole and got a good break and ended up on the rail behind the leader.

Habib brought Qhawe Lami alongside the favourite and being without cover might have won him the race, because the favourite did not look comfortable behind a relatively slow leader.

They switched either side of the latter and then came together at the 350m mark.

A thrilling ding dong tussle ensued and it was in the balance until Qhawe Lami exerted his authority in the final 50m to win by half-a-length.

It was the Hollywood Syndicate’s 106th win of the season and enabled them to increase their slender lead over reigning champion owners Drakenstein Stud at the top of the table.

It was Habib’s 72nd win of the season in SA.

He had only two wins in over 50 rides in Singapore, but did not site that as the reason for his return.

He said he had enjoyed every moment of the experience and was able to incorporate riding on a new track and against jockeys with different styles into his knowledge bank.

However, he concluded the post-race interview by saying, “I am just happy to be back and to be back in the winner’s enclosure.”

Gimme A Prince (far side) and Rio Querari might renew rivalry in the Grade 1 Golden Horse Sprint. They are pictured here finishing one-two in the Grade 1 Pongracz Cape Flying Championship. (Credit: Wayne Marks).

Big Entry For The Grade 1 Golden Horse Sprint

The Grade 1 Golden Horse Sprint trophy sadly can not be defended this year because the reigning champion, the Corrie Lensley-trained Vercingetorix colt Alesian Chief, was humanely euthanised at the beginning of this month after a track work incident and subsequent post operative complications.

Nevertheless, there was a big entry list of 31 horses for the June 3 event at Hollywoodbets Scottsville.

Seven of those are females. including the crack filly Desert Miracle. She will have to carry 59,5kg, no easy task against the boys, but if she takes her place in the Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint she would have to take on the top class Princess Calla, so it will be interesting to see which way the 124 merit rated Mike de Kock-trained filly goes.

The highest rated sprinter in the country, Isivunguvungu, is not among the entries, not surprisingly, as he is better at 1000m and carrying topweight over this tough 1200m would not do him much good ahead of his chief target, the Gr 1 weight for age Mercury Sprint around the turn at the easier Hollywoodbets Greyville track.

The topweights are the 125 merit rated pair Gimme A Prince and William Robertson.

Gimme A Prince won by 3,10 lengths over this course and distance on debut before things went awry in the Grade 1 Gold Medallion, but he has certainly fulfilled his potential since then including a win in the Grade 1 Pongracz Cape Flying Championship. He proved last time, when a narrow second in the Grade 2 IOS Drill Hall Stakes over 1400m, that he gets further, so this tough 1200m will be ideal for him.

However, it will also be ideal for the classy William Robertson, who has won at Grade 2 level over 1450m.

Carrying half-a-kilogram less than them will be the former Equus Champion Sprinter Rio Querari. He has been back in form lately, recently recording his first win for exactly two years, so he could be well handicapped off a 124 merit rating, considering he has been as high as 130.

Last year’s runner up Bartholdi will run off a seven point higher mark of 119 this year.

There will be 16 runners and the bottom weight will be 54kg, a rule brought in last year probably to ensure the winner is deserving of Gr 1 victor status.

There will be pressure for places.

If all stood their ground the cut off merit rating would be around 112.

However, the final field panelists are not bound by merit rating order when making their final decision.

Under Your Spell is one of the more interesting female entries.

Trainer Sean Tarry, who is probably the most successful Hollywoodbets Scottsville Grade 1 trainer in history with 15 victories at the highest level, might feel Under Your Spell would play second fiddle to stablemate Princess Calla in the weight for age Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint, so he might take his chances with her in the Golden Horse, where she would have to carry just 54,5kg off a 114 merit rating.

She won the Grade 1 Allan Robertson Championship over course and distance as a two-year-old by 3,80 lengths, a scintillating performance, so has the ability to do it.

Tarry has also entered Last year’s Grade 1 Gold Medallion winner Thunderstruck. He has been disappointing this season, but in retrospect his only run over a sprint trip this term, when a 6,20 length fourth to Princess Calla in the Grade 2 Senor Santa over 1160m, when receiving only 1,5kg, was not a bad effort. He will sneak into the handicap here carrying 54kg off a 115 merit rating.

The full field is shown below:

Race-8 (Turf / Stand) R850 000 1200m
GOLDEN HORSE SPRINT (Grade 1)
Handicap
WFA: 2yrs-8.5kgs 3yrs-1kgs

28	Gimme A Prince		(4G)	60	125	A	Dean Kannemeyer
18	William Robertson		(4G)	60	125	HA	Corne Spies
7	Desert Miracle		(4F)	59.5	124	A	Mike de Kock
22	Rio Querari	Accepted	(6G)	59.5	124	A	Justin Snaith
3	Seeking The Stars		(5H)	59.5	124	BA	Vaughan Marshall
1	Bartholdi		(5G)	57	119	BA	M G Azzie/A A Azzie
10	Supreme Warrior		(4C)	57	119	HA e	M G Azzie/A A Azzie
9	Surjay		(4G)	56	117	A	Brett Crawford
29	Taikonaut		(3G)	55	117	A	Roy Magner
5	We’re Jamming	Accepted	(3G)	55	117	A	Justin Snaith
25	Mercantour		(3G)	54.5	116	A	Stuart Pettigrew
31	Under Your Spell		(4F)	54.5	114	AT	Sean Tarry
16	Thunderstruck		(3C)	54	115	BAT	Sean Tarry
14	Cosmic Highway		(4G)	54	113	BA	Dean Kannemeyer
15	Good Traveller		(4G)	54	113	A	Michael Roberts
8	Bon Vivant		(4F)	54	112	BA	J A Janse van Vuuren
4	Maharanee		(3F)	54	112	PA e	J A Janse van Vuuren
13	Rollwiththepunches		(4G)	54	112	A	Roy Magner
2	Full Velocity		(5M)	54	110	BA	Sean Tarry
20	Gladatorian		(3G)	54	110	AT	Stuart Ferrie
17	Countdown		(3G)	54	109	AT	Glen Kotzen
24	Smorgasbord		(4G)	54	109	A	J A Janse van Vuuren
12	Stiptelik (AUS)		(4F)	54	108	A	Brett Crawford
23	Whoa Whoa Whoa (AUS)		(4F)	54	108	A e	Brett Crawford
21	Tempting Fate		(5G)	54	107	A	Dean Kannemeyer
19	After The Rain		(5H)	54	105	A	Gareth van Zyl
26	Pearl Of Asia		(6G)	54	105	BA	Robbie Hill
30	Cartel Captain		(6G)	54	104	BAT	Stuart Ferrie
11	Cleaver Greene		(4G)	54	103	A	Mike de Kock
6	Tread Swiftly		(5G)	54	103	BA	Gareth van Zyl
27	Mufasa		(4G)	54	99	A	Brett Crawford
(31)

Lucky Lad could give Sean Tarry yet another Hollywoodbets Scottsville Grade 1 winner (JC Photos).

Tarry Can Add To Phenomenal Hollywoodbets Scottsville record.

The Grade 1 SA Fillies Sprint, the Grade 1 Gold Medallion and the Grade 1 Allan Robertson Championship, to all be run over 1200m at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on June 3, have all attracted good fields.

The 127-rated Princess Calla is trained by peerless Hollywoodbets Scottsville maestro Sean Tarry, who has had no fewer than 15 Grade 1 wins at the Pietermaritzburg track, and she heads the field in the SA Fillies Sprint.

However, she won’t have it all her own way.

The 124 rated Desert Miracle has plenty of speed too, although she is also entered in the Grade 1 Golden Horse Sprint.

The other Grade 1 winner in the field is the Tarry-trained Under Your Spell, who won the Allan Robertson as a two-year-old. She is also entered in the Golden Horse.

An interesting runner is Golden Hostess. She was 2kg better off then weight for age when beaten 2,30 lengths by Princess Calla over this trip at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth in the Grade 2 Cartier Scepptre Stakes, but she won well the next time she tried that course and distance and she should relish the tough 1200m of Hollywoodbets Scottsville.

Cold Fact looks to be an proving sort who could earn.

In the Gold Medallion, Tarry will also likely have the favourite i.e. the impressive Grade 2 SA Nursery winner Lucky Lad.

The highly regarded Outlaw King could be a threat.

The filly Golden Tatjana is also an interesting Cape entry, having defeated Outlaw King last time.

SA Nursery runner up Jerusalema Rain needs to find 2,75 lengths on Lucky Lad.

Guy Gibson, beaten four lengths in the SA Nursery, looks the type who will enjoy HWB Scottsville and so should the Tarry-trained The Africa House.

The filly Egyptian Mau has had one start for one easy win and the form of that win has worked out quite well.

In the Allan Robertson, it is Tarry who once again holds the Trump card.

He runs the unbeaten Grade 2 SA Fillies Nursey winner Mrs Geriatrix.

However, she will have her work cut out pegging back the outstanding Candice Bass-Robinson-trained Winter Cloud, who has won her last three starts in fine style, including over 1100m here, which gives her valuable course experience.

Rascova is the only horse to have beaten Winter Cloud, but that was when the latter was making her debut and she has exacted revenge since.

Golden Tatjana has two lengths to find on Winter Cloud on their Hollywoodbets Scottsville clash.

Ripple Effect only has 0,75 lengths to find on Mrs Geriatrix.

Egyptian Mau can’t be ignored either.

It is going to be an intriguing day of Grade 1 racing.

The fields are listed below:

Race-7 (Turf / Stand) R750 000 1200m
SOUTH AFRICAN FILLIES SPRINT (Grade 1)
For Fillies and Mares at Weight-For-Age
WFA: 2yrs-8.5kgs 3yrs-1kgs

0	$Iphiko	(4F)	0	107	BA	Mike de Kock
0	$Bold Act	(4F)	0	99	BA	Mike de Kock
1	Princess Calla	(5M)	60	127	A	Sean Tarry
17	Desert Miracle	(4F)	60	124	A	Mike de Kock
4	Sheela	(4F)	60	117	A	M G Azzie/A A Azzie
12	Under Your Spell	(4F)	60	114	AT	Sean Tarry
5	Cold Fact	(4F)	60	112	PA	Tony Peter
7	Full Velocity	(5M)	60	110	BA	Sean Tarry
6	Stiptelik (AUS)	(4F)	60	108	A	Brett Crawford
8	Whoa Whoa Whoa (AUS)	(4F)	60	108	A e	Brett Crawford
3	Aunty Lizzy	(4F)	60	102	A	Lorenzo Karriem
9	Homely Girl	(4F)	60	99	A	J A Janse van Vuuren
10	Warship	(4F)	60	92	A	Michael Roberts
2	Amarandi	(4F)	60	91	CA	WDF Badenhorst/BC Kennedy
15	Golden Hostess	(3F)	59	119	BAT	Candice Bass-Robinson
14	Gimme A Shot	(3F)	59	113	A	M G Azzie/A A Azzie
11	Ameena	(3F)	59	112	A	Glen Kotzen
13	Maharanee	(3F)	59	112	PA e	J A Janse van Vuuren
16	Shantastic	(3F)	59	101	A	Dean Kannemeyer
(19)

Race-6 (Turf / Stand) R700 000 1200m
GOLD MEDALLION (Grade 1)
For 2 yo R100 000 Win BSA Bonus Series

6	Captain Wara		(2G)	60	0	HA e	Corne Spies
12	#Cliff Hanger	Accepted	(2C)	60	0	A	J A Janse van Vuuren
3	#Guy Gibson		(2C)	60	0	A	Roy Magner
1	Icy Blast		(2G)	60	0	BA	Vaughan Marshall
16	Jerusalema Rain		(2G)	60	0	A	Ashley Fortune
15	Lucky Lad		(2C)	60	0	A	Sean Tarry
5	Outlaw King		(2C)	60	0	A	Dean Kannemeyer
4	#Red Bomber	Accepted	(2C)	60	0	A	J A Janse van Vuuren
10	#Sandringham Summit		(2C)	60	0	AT	David Nieuwenhuizen
13	The Abdicator (IRE)		(2C)	60	0	A e	Brett Crawford
7	The Africa House		(2G)	60	0	A	Sean Tarry
9	#Warrior Of Royalty		(2C)	60	0	A	Nathan Kotzen
8	Captain’s Christy		(2F)	57.5	0	A	Mark Dixon
11	#Egyptian Mau		(2F)	57.5	0	A	Lucky Houdalakis
14	Golden Tatjana		(2F)	57.5	0	A	Glen Kotzen
2	Rascova		(2F)	57.5	0	A	Glen Kotzen
(16)

Race-5 (Turf / Stand) R700 000 1200m
ALLAN ROBERTSON CHAMPIONSHIP (Grade 1)
For 2 yof R100 000 Win BSA Bonus Series

2	#Ambrym		(2F)	60	0	A	J A Janse van Vuuren
5	Captain’s Christy		(2F)	60	0	A	Mark Dixon
10	#Cullinan Blue		(2F)	60	0	A	Brett Crawford
11	#Egyptian Mau		(2F)	60	0	A	Lucky Houdalakis
9	#Elegant Ice		(2F)	60	0	A	Lucky Houdalakis
6	Global Thunder		(2F)	60	0	A	Corrie Lensley
3	Golden Tatjana		(2F)	60	0	A	Glen Kotzen
14	Hot Pearl		(2F)	60	0	A	Wendy Whitehead
1	#Moving In	Accepted	(2F)	60	0	A	J A Janse van Vuuren
15	Mrs Geriatrix		(2F)	60	0	A	Sean Tarry
4	Rascova		(2F)	60	0	A	Glen Kotzen
8	Red Hot Rose		(2F)	60	0	BA	Mike de Kock
13	Ripple Effect		(2F)	60	0	A	Ashley Fortune
7	Troppo Veloce		(2F)	60	0	A	Ashley Fortune
12	Winter Cloud		(2F)	60	0	A	Candice Bass-Robinson
(15)

Danon Platina grey filly White Pearl digs down deep today at Turffontein Inside (JC Photos)

Danon Platina Reaches Double Figures

Japanese-bred Deep Impact sire Danon Platina became the first freshman sire to reach ten individual winners this season when his progeny won the first two races at Turffonteion Inside today.

The Mauritzfontein Stud-based sire made a slow start to his stud career, but his progeny are clearly progressive and will get better as they go further too, so the world now appears to be his oyster.

Today the Mike de Kock-trained White Pearl got the ball rolling in a Juvenile Plate for fillies over 1450m.

This Wilgerbosdrift and Mauritzfontein Stud-bred grey Danon Platina filly is out of placed Tiger Ridge mare Oyster Pond, who is a half-sister to Grade 1 SA Classic and Grade 1 SA Derby winner King’s Gambit.

The ASSM Syndicate-owned filly had caught the eye on debut running on over 1450m and was running over the same course and distance today from a better draw.

She was backed into 2/1 second favourite behind the Grade 1 WSB SA Fillies Nursery third-placed So Seductive, who had a wide draw to contend with.

So Seductive had to be used up to some extent to get to the lead while Craig Zackey had White Pearl in mid-pack.

So Seductive had cried enough by the 300m mark by which time White Pearl had emerged as a big player, although the only previous winner in the race, Queen Of Camelot, was moving up well on the outside.

The latter looked the likely winner but White Pearl dug down deep and found extra to emerge a 0,25 length winner with the rest well beaten.

The Listed Devon Air Stakes over 1400m at Hollywoodbets Greyville could be an interesting option for her.

The next race, a Juvenile Plate over 1450m, was won by the hard-knocking French Impact, who is owned by Colin Bird and was bred by Laurence Wernars.

This colt is out of Frankel one-time winner Avantgarde.

The Robbie Sage-trained colt won by a cosy 1,60 lengths, which was commendable because she had not settled well in a handy position with cover under Muzi Yeni.

Danon Platina is still in second place in the Freshman’s sire title chase behind the late Lancaster Bomber.

The championship is decided on stakes and there is not much in it.

Chester Vase winner Arrest looks likely to be Frank Dettori’s mount in the legendary jockey’s last ride in the Epsom Derby (Racing TV)

Dettori Likely To Be Aboard Arrest In His Final Derby

Frankie Dettori won the Premio Parioli, the Italian 2,000 Guineas, for the first time in his career at the beginning of May, but the horse who clinched this milestone moment for him, Vero Atleta (Gleneagles), could only manage fourth place in Sunday’s Italian Derby.

It did not matter in the long scheme of things, because the only one of Italy’s four biggest races, the 1000 Guineas, the 2000 Guineas, the Derby and The Oaks, which had been missing on Dettori’s CV had been the 1000 Guineas.

He will retire happy he has finally completed the Italian classic set, having previously had four seconds in the Italian 1000 Guineas, a race his father Gianfranco won twice (1989 and 1991).

Yesterday (Monday) saw Dettori taking part in a vital gallop.

He went to Epsom Downs to ride the John and Thady Gosden-trained Arrest (Frankel), on whom he easily won the Group 3 Chester Vase.

The colt worked from the top of the course, down Tattenham corner and into the straight.

The Irish Mirror reported Arrest had banished concerns over whether he would handle the track and Dettori had said: “At this stage he’s my Epsom Derby ride.”

“It is always a worry because he’s a big horse to get round that bend but we went round there fine – no problem. He’s growing up, getting stronger and Chester did him the world of good.”

Dual Summer Cup winner Master Sabina pictured as a foal at Varsfontein Stud.

The Last Of ‘Sabina’ at Cape Winter Sale

The last two foals of quality broodmare Sabina Park (Sportsworld) will come under the hammer at the 2023 Cape Racing Winter Mixed Sale to be staged at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth on Friday, 16 June.

Varsfontein Stud, as agent on behalf of Michael De Broglio, will present Sabina Park’s yearling colt by the Jet Master stallion Master Of My Fate (Lot 49) during the first section of the sale and her weanling colt by Gimmethegreenlight (Lot 168), near the end.

It is interesting to note that Sabina Park’s first covering way back in 2008 produced G1 Summer Cup winner Master Sabina, sired by Jet Master himself and a pointer to this cross.

Carl de Vos of Varsfontein commented: “Sabina Park has been retired, she was a wonderful broodmare and these are her last progeny. The Master Of My Fate yearling is a classic looker, a beautiful horse who will take some time, but will reward his owners. The ‘Gimme’ weanling, on the other hand, looks like a speedball and he is likely to be precocious.”

The sale will start at 11:00 am and is comprised of 175 lots to be sold in the following order:
yearlings, followed by mares, and then weanlings.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE CATALOGUE

For sale related queries, please contact:
Justin Vermaak (justin@caperacing.com)
or Robyn Collyer (robyn@caperacing.com)

Muzi Yeni completes his four-timer on the Robbie Sage-trained Ideal World filly Cape Lights (Picture: JC Photos)

Yeni Four-timer, Lerena, Sage and Magner Doubles

Muzi Yeni rode a four-timer at Turffontein Inside today (Tuesday), two of tgem for Robbie Sage and two of them for Roy Magner.

Gavin Lerena rode a double.

Yeni goes to 116 wins for the season at a strike rate of 11.50%

Lerena goes to 74 wins at 15.16%.

Sage is on 12 wins at 14.12%.

Magner is on 29 wins at 10%.

The question subject is pictured above (thoroughbredracing.com)

Today’s Question

Which British apprentice has already had 51 wins since making his debut last October and has already ridden in an English Classic?

Answer at bottom of the newsletter

Hollywoodbets Greyville Poly Fields, Wednesday

Apprentice Billy Loughnane (Getty Images)

ANSWER TO TODAY’S QUESTION

Billy Loughnane has had 51 wins in Britian at a strike rate of 17% since making his debut last October and rode in this year’s 1000 Guineas, finishing unplaced on a 200/1 shot.

The below interview article written about him when he was still 16 years-old back in January, gives an insight into the apprentice sensation.

Steve Dennis (thoroughbredracing.com)

Billy the Kid: meet the teenage sensation leading the way among British jockeys – aged 16

Star apprentice Billy Loughnane is making big headlines after a remarkable 23 winners in January – and he’s heading Stateside to further his education. Steve Dennis speaks to the young tyro, who had his first ride only three months ago.

GB: Look back, and what do you remember about being 16? Maybe you were writing terrible poetry, or groaning under the thumb of unrequited love (the two may have been connected), or using the bank and taxi service of Mum and Dad with no real notion of the next step in life.

Billy Loughnane is 16, and when one day he looks back he’ll remember being the leading rider in Britain. The boy from the heart of the green Worcestershire countryside rode a remarkable 23 winners in January, putting him well clear of the competition and earning himself the obvious but resonant nickname ‘Billy The Kid’ from the awestruck tabloid press.

The young gunslinger has made an enormous impression in a very short time – even the BBC, which tends to focus on the negative when covering horse racing, sought out the prodigy for a feelgood interview to grace the evening news bulletins.

Later this month he’ll swap the drabness of the English winter for the sunshine of Miami, where he’ll hone his nascent talent and fine-tune the clock in his head by riding trackwork for trainer Anna Meah, whose husband David is a friend of the family.

“I’ve never been to America before,” says Loughnane, eagerly. “I’m really looking forward to it. Of course I’d like to be at home riding winners, but it’s the best thing for my riding education, the right thing to do for the long term.”

It’s another jigsaw-puzzle piece in the bigger picture, a plan devised by Loughnane’s trainer-father Mark to maximise his apprentice sorcerer’s opportunities this summer. In Britain, an apprentice – ‘bugboy’, in the US – can claim a 7lb weight allowance until he/she rides 20 winners, a 5lb allowance up to the 50-winner mark, and then 3lb until the 95-winner threshold, after which it’s level weights with the senior riders.

Retaining as much of his claim as possible until the bigger races on turf come along will increase Loughnane’s earning power and widen his circle of employers.

For a good apprentice is almost literally worth his weight in gold, with everyone wanting a piece of that crucial weight allowance, including the biggest names in the sport. Last week Loughnane made his first appearance in the blue silks of Godolphin, a watershed moment for any rider let alone one so inexperienced, and he grabbed the opportunity with both hands when driving home Sapphire Seas at Wolverhampton to win by a nose.

“That was the best day ever,” he says. “I’ve grown up watching Godolphin win so many big races, and to ride a winner in those blue colours was incredible.

“Charlie Appleby was really nice to deal with, spoke to me in the morning, told me to ride the race as I found it. It was a very big moment for me.”

The unglamorous all-weather circuit at Wolverhampton is where the Loughnane juggernaut began to roll, the scene of his first winner in November; he had his first ride in public the previous month.

It was a foggy day at Wolverhampton, visibility down to the minimum, and when he brought Swiss Rowe out of the gloom in front it marked both the fulfilment of Loughnane’s boyhood dreams and the kindling of his teenage ambitions.

“Ever since he could speak, he wanted to be a jockey,” says father Mark, based at Rock Farm in Worcestershire. “He’s got plenty of brain cells and his mother Clare wanted him to be a vet, but he just wanted to ride.

“We never expected things to happen this quickly. It’s gone so well, we couldn’t have scripted it any better, I’m so pleased and so proud of him.

“When he had his first ride I was very nervous, but he took to it like a duck to water. And when he rode for Godolphin I wanted that horse to win like it was my own runner in the Derby. I drove him to the track and he was so cool about it. I wasn’t!”

The boy Loughnane began life in the saddle on a rocking-horse he was given for Christmas, but soon graduated to the real thing. He travelled the well-trodden path of pony racing from the age of 13, conquered that empire when becoming champion last year, and has brought that formative education to bear on his transition to the major league.

“Pony racing has really helped Billy with his pace awareness,” says Mark. “You’ll say I’m biased but other trainers have said it too – he’s always in the right place at the right time, and that’s not just luck.

“He’s improved and strengthened with every race, with every horse he’s ridden. He’s very technically aware for a 16-year-old.”

It certainly shouldn’t be forgotten, amid the blizzard of headlines and interviews and acclamation that has surrounded Loughnane for the last few weeks, that he is only 16, just a boy thrust wholesale into an adult world, a boy who only last summer left his schooldays behind by passing every one of his GCSE exams – “Mum helped me a lot”. There are all the brain cells his father mentioned.

Yet he’s coping with it all with the usual insouciance of youth, the fearlessness and confidence emblematic of the teenage years when everything seems possible and anything might happen.

“This has always been my goal, I’ve been working towards this since I was little,” he says, although he’s not that much bigger now. “It’s always been horses for me, I’ve been getting saddles, riding kit for birthdays and Christmas.

“I didn’t expect things to happen quite as quickly as this, it’s all sort of rocketed. The interview on the BBC was really good, a great way for people to notice me. My mates don’t really understand the whole picture of racing, how it all works, but they saw me on the news and I got a lot of messages saying ‘well done’. It’s all going great.”

Loughnane has the right people around him, from mum and dad to his very experienced jockey coach Rodi Greene and his agent Shashi Righton, who also books rides for Loughnane’s idol Tom Marquand.

He’s his role model – “Tom’s so professional in everything he does, such a great rider, he was champion apprentice [2015] and it would be amazing to follow in his footsteps” – but it’s one step at a time for the moment. Starting with a short visit to the States.

“Going away, while he’s got all this momentum behind him, was a hard decision to make but it’s the right one,” says Mark. “Billy will be in the US for a few weeks and then he’s been invited to ride at the Ribot Cup, an apprentices’ challenge competition, in Pisa. After that he’ll come home and be ready for when the turf season starts at the end of March.”

By then Billy will have turned 17, and will be keen to pick up where he left off. “I know things might not always be going as well as they have been just now, which is why I have to make the most of it while I can,” he says, a dash of realism marbling the unreal events of the past month. But I can’t wait to get going again – I’m really looking forward to it.”

And already so many of the right things to look back on.

Turf Talk Newsletter – 23 May, 2023