Another Billy Loughnane? The hotshot apprentice punters need to know about as the Flat season kicks into gear

The Flat season is set to really get going over the next few weeks and the early stages can be a goldmine for punters reacting quickest to the latest rising star in the saddle.

The only issue with the last big talent to emerge from the apprentice ranks, Billy Loughnane, was just how soon the cat was out of the bag. After starting last year with just six career winners, Loughnane rode 34 in the first three months of the year at a strike-rate of 27 per cent, when anyone placing £1 on all of his mounts would have won £51.82. That soon dried up and Loughnane, while continuing to ride brilliantly and finishing last year with a tally of 134, has had just one profitable month since.

His early success nonetheless drove home the value of an apprentice's claim if that rider is better than most of his colleagues in the weighing room. Their appearance on a racecard can also be an even more invaluable pointer to punters if their claim is being carefully managed.