Sean Levey: relishing chance to ride at Breeders' Cup for the first time

When Sean Levey arrives at Santa Anita on Saturday to ride Billesdon Brook in the Filly & Mare Turf, the sun-kissed vista will contrast sharply with his mood 12 months earlier.

Back then the jockey was nursing a painful injury, the legacy of a nasty fall at Salisbury when he fractured his shoulder blade. He’d been idle for more than four months. The metal matrix holding him together would have triggered an electronic uproar had he passed through airport security.

However, Levey walked seamlessly through Heathrow on his way to Los Angeles earlier this week. The metal pins were removed in January, since when the jockey has enjoyed a richly rewarding campaign. To conjure one more upset victory from Billesdon Brook would be no more than Levey deserves.