ROYAL Ascot is a microcosm of the British racing season and riding winners there is a massive deal for any jockey.

There were a number of jockeys who made that breakthrough for the first time last week, but the one who might end up challenging Ryan Moore numerically has to be Billy Loughnane, who scored on 80/1 outsider Rashabar in the Coventry Stakes and quickly added to his tally with another win on Soprano in the Sandringham Fillies’ Handicap.

The teenager has already made headlines as the most prolific apprentice of the modern era, riding an incredible 130 winners in his first season when just 16 years old, and while he takes too many rides to be a jockey that punters can back blind, the fact that he is so prolific means that his learning curve is much steeper than most in a similar position.

Many champion apprentices struggle when they lose their claim but Loughnane has simply bulldozed through that barrier as if it had never existed, and he’s also avoiding perhaps a bigger pitfall that affects teenagers who shoot to fame.

Go all the way

Entitlement and arrogance can easily choke a promising career, but the way other professionals talk about Billy demonstrates that he has the work ethic and the attitude to go all the way.

When he won his first pattern race, the Group 3 Schwarzgold-Rennen at Cologne on Queues Likely, dictating a steady pace and kicking the big filly into a decisive lead a furlong out, winning trainer Stan Moore did not stint in his praise.

Moore said: “I think you have to put into context that he’s probably the best kid that’s come through since Walter Swinburn. He’s a proper jockey with a proper future and really studies each race he rides in. He has a very old head on young shoulders. He got the fractions proper.”

His ride to win the Coventry was a thing of beauty and it was easy to imagine you were watching a young Walter Swinburn the way he kept Rashabar beautifully balanced through the final furlong, which was crucial in securing victory from two colts who challenged on the other side of the track. Once again, the winning trainer didn’t mince his words.

“We get to use Billy when we can – he’s a great kid, with a lovely way about him and wonderful with people. The world is his oyster as far as the horse business is concerned.”

After winning the Sandringham on Soprano, Highclere Thoroughbred Racing’s Harry Herbert also weighed in to call Loughnane “extraordinary” and “a lovely guy” while praising his willingness to muck in and muck out, so to speak.

I don’t like making predictions about jockeys – Walter never became champion, of course – and there are a plethora of things which can hold back a natural talent, but Loughnane simply impresses in every department, and I have little doubt that if he’s blessed with good health, Billy is destined for greatness.

I MUST admit for having a soft spot for a top-class gelding since falling in love with a big unit called Teleprompter in the 1980s, and it’s important to understand how the longevity of such runners can add to the appeal of flat racing.

People naturally have their favourites but the transient nature of racing on the level means that the very best horses are whisked off to stud careers before they can be fully appreciated. Geldings, by definition, tend to hang around longer and when they are top-class, they tend to attract devotion from their fans.

Horses like Kelso and John Henry in the US have attained legendary status, as did Ascot specialist Brown Jack on British soil. The likes of Gordon Lord Byron and Sole Power have become cult heroes in recent times, while there have been few better sprinters at his peak than Battaash.

It was good to see several of the top races at Royal Ascot won by geldings, and none proves the point that you need time to fully appreciate a horse than Khaadem, who was once a frustrating front-running sprinter who barely stayed five furlongs but has now won consecutive runnings of the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Stakes under a change of tactics. He’s eight years old, and we’re just beginning to get to know him!

Exciting gelding

Isle Of Jura was a really impressive winner of the Hardwicke and is a horse we should see plenty more of in the top middle-distance events open to geldings, but the most exciting gelding – and just about the most exciting three-year-old on show last week, was the brilliant Calandagan, who proved he could do on fast ground at Ascot what he’s been doing on soft in France, which is make his rivals look slow when unleashing a devastating turn of foot.

The Aga Khan’s son of Gleneagles could drop back to an extended 10 furlongs for the International Stakes at York in August although he may have the Melbourne Cup on his agenda later in the year.

That’s an exciting prospect, as is the thought that we can expect to see this brilliant performer next year, and the year after. Sign me up to the fan club.

I DON’T want to take anything away from some brilliant winners at the meeting, but it’s always beneficial to look for defeated animals who look ready to make amends, and there were two particularly eye-catching runners with entries at the July meeting at Newmarket and they should give ante-post backers a big run.

Laurel was a filly I put up 12 months ago for the Duke of Cambridge Stakes only for a setback to rule her out, but I was dead against her this time as she had not been seen for well over a year, and had been soundly beaten in a well-reported racecourse gallop at Newmarket, suggesting that the Ascot contest would come too soon for her.

In the end, she seemed to lack the edge of winner Running Lion, but put in an impressive burst to get into a challenging position in the penultimate furlong. She will find this run bringing her to a peak, assuming she suffers no setbacks after this hugely promising return.

Running Lion got an excellent ride from Oisin Murphy to end a frustrating run, but I would very much fancy Laurel to turn the tables should the pair meet in the Falmouth Stakes on July 12th. Porta Fortuna could also line up at Newmarket, and would be a stiffer test for Laurel, but she demands serious consideration in what looks a mouth-watering contest.

The Bunbury Cup is the big handicap at the July meeting, and luckless Buckingham Palace Stakes third Carrytheone looks the one to be on at this stage.

A winner over the Bunbury course and distance two starts back, he was stuck in traffic as the winner got away in the Buckingham Palace and finished strongly when in the clear to show himself still ahead of his mark.

He was held up too far off the pace as it panned out at Ascot and I’m sure he won’t be asked to make up so much ground when returned to the July course.

Able to race off the same mark as at Ascot, Carrytheone makes plenty of appeal, and is preferred to Orazio, who also flashed home in the Wokingham and is knocking on the door in a big handicap, for all I’d prefer to see him kept to six furlongs.