Who will hit the ground running in the British Flat turf season? Three jockeys, a trainer and a horse to follow

Attention will switch from the all-weather to the grass on Saturday with the start of the British Flat turf season at Doncaster. So who could make an early splash?

Jockeys

Rossa Ryan

Comfortably leads the all-weather jockeys’ championship and struck on the international stage last month when landing a Riyadh Group 2 on Annaf. Ryan is on course to challenge the 202 British winners he rode last season, having partnered 51 domestic winners already in 2024.

Ryan’s career-best haul last year was achieved off the back of a split with Amo Racing in 2022 in a move that has worked out well for both parties. Valiant Force at Royal Ascot was one of a couple of Group 2 winners Ryan rode for Kia Joorabchian’s operation last season and it would not be a surprise if the 23-year-old was to pop up with more big-race success in Amo’s purple silks should retained rider David Egan be unavailable.

Rossa Ryan: leads the all-weather jockeys' championshipCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Ryan’s productive winter could help him land more valuable spare rides such as when he guided Shaquille to win the July Cup. He has a decent chance of transferring his prolific all-weather form to the turf straight away with his Brocklesby mount Roysdelight prominent in the betting for the second race at Doncaster on Saturday

Billy Loughnane

The 18-year-old won the Brocklesby last year on Doddie’s Impact and there has been no second-season syndrome for the champion apprentice.

Billy Loughnane: won last year's Brocklesby on Doddie's ImpactCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

Loughnane is second behind Ryan in the all-weather title race and already has a turf winner to his name, having landed a Listed race at Saint-Cloud last Saturday on Chic Colombine for George Boughey. The growing connection between Loughnane and that Newmarket yard is one to keep an eye on,.

Silvestre de Sousa

The three-time champion jockey returned from a ten-month ban for breaching the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s betting rules with a winner on Andrew Balding’s Superb Force at Newcastle last week.

De Sousa went to Hong Kong due to a lack of opportunities in Britain after losing his retainer with Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha's King Power Racing 2021 and it will be interesting to see how her fares this time around. De Sousa has already ridden for ten different trainers since his return and Johan, who he rode to win the 2022 Lincoln, could get the ball rolling nicely for him in the same race on Saturday.

Trainer

Mick Appleby

Mick Appleby: ready to carry good all-weather form into the turf seasonCredit: Edward Whitaker

It has been business as usual for table-topper Mick Appleby in the all-weather trainers' championship, a title he is attempting to land for the seventh successive year. However, with Annaf's win in Saudi Arabia and Big Evs's three-year-old campaign ahead of him, Appleby could be celebrating long after All-Weather Championships finals day at Newcastle on Good Friday.

Big Evs provided Appleby with his first Royal Ascot winner when landing the Windsor Castle Stakes before following up that Listed success with a Group 3 victory at Glorious Goodwood and a Group 2 win at Doncaster's St Leger meeting. Big Evs then proved himself on the international stage when ending his juvenile season by winning the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita under Tom Marquand.

Big Evs is a sprinter with numerous international options and as Appleby has already demonstrated with Annaf, he can have a major impact on the global scene rather than simply being pigeon-holed as prolific on the domestic all-weather scene.

Horse

Mystical Elegance

Dominic Ffrench Davis enjoyed his best season by far last year helped largely by the form of his Amo-owned juveniles. Fifteen of the Lambourn trainer's 23 Flat winners last season were two-year-olds, so Mystical Elegance has to be of serious interest in the Brocklesby.

The daughter of Zoustar is a half-sister to five winners and is clearly well thought of as she has been entered in Newbury's valuable Super Sprint by the trainer.

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