From California sunshine to Wolverhampton floodlights - Billy Loughnane rides 100th track winner

There can’t have been many occasions when a jockey has ridden at Del Mar and Wolverhampton within 48 hours, but Billy Loughnane did just that – and there was a notable outcome too.

The 19-year-old reached a milestone 100th winner at the Midlands venue on Monday night when Zoulu Chief landed the 6f handicap.

Loughnane has been enjoying a brilliant year, already smashing his previous-best total of winners and now sitting on 179.

At the weekend he rode at the Breeders’ Cup, finishing third on both El Cordobes in the Turf and Diamond Rain in the Filly & Mare Turf. Those two rides yielded prize-money of £504,000, more than 65 per cent of his total earnings from 566 rides at Wolverhampton.

Ethical Diamond finishing ahead of Billy Loughnane and El Cordobes (left) in the Breeders' Cup TurfCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

“It’s not as tight as Del Mar,” joked Loughnane to Sky Sports Racing. “The horses ran well at the weekend and it was a great opportunity, but it’s good to be back here.”

On Zoulu Chief and his landmark win, he added: “It was a perfect trip round. He jumped to make the running and there was plenty of speed on, so I was happy to sit; he picked up nicely.

“I had my first winner here at Wolverhampton and I’ve been work-riding round the track since I was 12 or 13. It’s got a special place in my heart – I had my first double, treble and four-timer here. It's been a very lucky course for me and it’s my favourite.”

To add some context to his Wolverhampton figures, Loughnane's next most successful and familiar track is Kempton, where he has 46 winners from 305 rides. 

Mighty Mason

Joanna Mason, who has been riding since 2006, equalled her career-best tally of 65 winners – set last year – when taking the 5f handicap on the Derek Shaw-trained Gustav Graves.

The seven-year-old is a Wolverhampton specialist who has now won seven of his 40 starts at the track, with a further eight seconds. He quickened smartly off the turn to reel in pace-setter Sam’s Xpress and reverse the form from a week ago.

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