Interview with trainer Mark Loughnane and star apprentice Billy Loughnane

Aside from meeting Mark and Billy at Rock Farm, a state-of-the-art training facility in Kidderminster the Loughnanes call home and that the man at the helm proudly describes as “a five-star hotel for horses”, there could be no more fitting place to meet them than at Wolverhampton racecourse; a place where Billy rode his first ever winner.

A yard on fire since the turn of the year and a jockey on a meteoric rise. If you’ve missed a Mark Loughnane TV interview in recent weeks then catch one, as each encapsulates emotion, pride and an overriding willingness to succeed.

It’s one of those typical twilight meetings which have refreshingly kept the racing show on the road amidst the recent cold snap. It’s also an amphitheatre for a 16-year-old to showcase his burgeoning talent to a racing fraternity that has been quick to recognise and request his services, with six rides for five different trainers at this meeting alone.

Understandably incredibly proud, Mark’s opening gambit is a simple one: “I can’t believe how far we’ve come”. The emphasis on ‘we’ comes up regularly in our chat and refers to Mark, wife Clare and sons Billy and Jack, the family who took the bold decision and upped sticks to pastures new back in 2011 with a determination to train permanently on this side of the Irish Sea.

Mark wouldn’t usually be lost for words. To the contrary, he’s a people person, good communicator and quick-witted with it, all contributing factors that have steadily pushed him forward in a career spanning 30-plus years in this industry and more than 20 since he took out his licence.

You’d be hard pushed to find another trainer whose second ever runner tasted success at the Galway Festival - and then followed up at the famous meeting days later - but that’s what Mark achieved in 2002.

“Now that was some feeling”, he says, “at that moment I thought I was Aidan O’Brien, how could I top that?”

Fast forward the clock some 20 years and the Tipperary-born trainer did - with Billy opening his account on the yard’s Swiss Rowe to light up an otherwise fog-filled Dunstall Park.

“I was left speechless”, says Mark, “this was a different buzz altogether. I’d told everyone who wanted to listen he was a talent; I was and still am proud as punch.”

At this juncture you’d be forgiven for thinking Mark’s family tree was one packed full of racing pedigree, quite the opposite, in fact, with no racing background to call upon and merely a childhood aspiration to be a jockey. It makes his story all the more intriguing.

“I was around 15”, he says, “I decided to bunk off school and take myself off to a racing yard in Thurles. Luckily I ended up on the doorstep of Tommy Stack.”

Smitten with the thoroughbred from that first encounter he recalls going on to serve an apprenticeship spanning two and a half years as stable lad, whilst teaching himself how to ride in the process.

If that spell served as a foothold, then the intervening years that spanned the 90’s went a long way to moulding and shaping him.

The desire to make an impact in the saddle burned brightly for a youthful Loughnane and, having made a move to Britain, he recalls his first ride in a conditional jockeys’ handicap chase on Master Comedy at Folkestone.

“I was probably the worst jockey in the race”, he laughs, “stuck in the middle of a savage bunch of lads, I think I finished fifth, but it was brilliant, you never forget your first ride.”

Equally, you never forget your first winner and, back in Ireland, he achieved that feat on Liscahill Hill, a good horse who, remarkably, he would go on to train to land a listed hurdle at Tralee some six years after they’d paired up in a bumper!

Mark concedes he wasn’t the best of riders – his height counted against him – but he picked up a wealth of experience working for the likes of Enda Bolger, Edward O’Grady and Pat Kelly, while a spell with Pat Doyle proved particularly significant.

Mark explains: “I’ve been very lucky to work with and learn from some brilliant trainers. Pat would have been the greatest influence on me, he’d train pointers alongside a lot of winners on the track, his attention to detail is exemplary, second to none, I learned so much in my three years there.”

Well versed in frequent moves – if anything thriving at the prospect of a new challenge – his final venture operating as understudy came as assistant to the late Terry Casey in the mid 90’s, and he is understandably incredibly proud in playing an instrumental part in the success of 1996 Martell Grand National winner Rough Quest.

Training in his own name became the obvious next step and he made an instant impact at the 2002 Galway Festival.

With limited numbers to work with, what followed immediately wasn’t so productive - “this game is all about progression and you can only do that with the ammunition” – but the decision to dip his toe into the English scene would prove lucrative and, even more encouragingly, sustained. Between 2007 and 2009 he operated at a win and place rate just shy of 50% from 43 runners with forays across the sea.

The relocation to Britain came in 2011 as the family, joined by an Alsatian and a string of 11 horses, arrived at their new base. Progress soon followed, with the string quickly rising to 50-plus and a very happy, productive spell ensued, resulting in more than 120 winners during their time in Staffordshire.

However, the ethos at Mark Loughnane Racing is “strive to improve” and, as Mark puts it, “when the chance arose to move from a three to a five-star facility for horses in 2017, it was too good an opportunity to miss”.

Making that possible were Steve and Anita Mares, long-standing supporters of the yard whose investment and foresight has transformed the 100-acre farm.

“Steve and Anita have been instrumental”, Mark explains, “we have all the facilities here to take us to the next level and unbelievable staff to match. Steve Davies, my assistant, relocated with us from Stoke, and Martin Peak, without them none of this would be possible”.

With a yearly target of 30 winners set as the standard and the yard having already reached the halfway mark by the end of January, Mark is keen to highlight the need to maintain the momentum heading into the spring. “We’re often pigeonholed as an all-weather outfit but we have enjoyed plenty of success on turf and we’ve some nice horses for the upcoming season, hopefully we can make an impact in some nice Saturday handicaps.”

Short term, maintaining the form of a string who have done the stable proud since the turn of the year sits as a priority, closely followed by managing the expectations of a 16-year-old with ambition who has enjoyed a rapid rise after having to wait for his 25th ride to get off the mark.

Mark describes son Billy as a sponge who absorbs and takes so much onboard, so there was understandable frustration in waiting for that first winner. Mark explains: “The fact he had a good few rides first off probably helped. He was learning all the time and, if anything, it’s added a new dimension to mornings on the gallops and how he rides work.”

With that, Billy joins us - buoyed following a session on the equicizer with jockey coach and long-term mentor Rodi Greene who has travelled from Devon to oversee his development.

And the progress has been astonishing, quickly establishing himself as coolness personified in the saddle. Billy served notice as to the value of his 7 lb claim with six winners to end 2022 (five coming for his dad) but strong support from a host of outside stables, including some powerful ones in Newmarket like those of George Boughey and even Charlie Appleby, have contributed to what has become a seismic subsequent rise.

He has already lost his 7 lb claim in double quick time and bagged 23 winners in January, propelling him to the top of the jockeys’ table for the calendar year.

Such success has understandably forced a change in what dad and lad see as their main goal moving forward. “We’re going to push to be champion apprentice”, says Billy with a wide smile. “It’s going to be tough with the likes of Harry [Davies] and Benoit [de la Sayette] in opposition but we’ll give it our best shot. It would be some dream to pull it off.”

Billy is keen to emphasise the significance Pony Club has had in his development, and how the experience gained can help him throughout the season.

“The Pony Club has been massive in my grounding, from practicing pushing and polishing up my style, you’re encouraged to have an awareness and appreciation of pace which I’ve found invaluable as I’ve moved forward,” he explains.

“I began the all-weather campaign with limited experience as an apprentice on the grass, but I’ve had plenty of opportunities to ride in pony races on the turf, from Bath to Ascot and memorable winners at Goodwood and York. Those experiences have stood me in good stead.”

Acknowledged for his achievements at the Pony Racing Authority Awards back in the autumn, the rider is keen to highlight that, just as in horse racing, you need to be riding good ponies.

“I can’t thank Richard and Dawn Prince enough. From the day I got involved they backed me with good ponies. I can’t stress how massive that is; riding the better ones encourages you as a rider to improve and ultimately gets you recognised”.

He also appreciates the opportunities afforded to him so early on during his apprentice career.

“Dad put me up on lots of horses at the start when plenty may not have, in truth. He gave me the chance to progress and even when I did mess up on one or two, he’d still be there to jock me up on another and push me on again.”

And a fantastic support network around the teenager – which includes his mum helping to manage his diet among other things with aplomb – is cemented further by a loyal band of the stable’s owners, chief amongst them Laurence Bellman, whose Starfighter was Billy's first ride.

“They’ve been behind me all the way, keen to give me opportunities to showcase what I can do,” he says.

Billy describes fellow Pony Club graduate and leading jockey Tom Marquand as his idol growing up, though due to his height has tried to style himself on another successful rider.

“Tom’s probably the one I look up to the most, but there’s been so many jockeys willing to help and show me ways to improve. Too many to mention but all of whom I’m incredibly grateful to,” says Billy. “I’ve often been one of the biggest and from my early teenage years I’d make a conscious effort to watch videos and style myself on Richard Hughes. I think that helped me a lot.”

That polished style has helped Loughnane rack up the winners at such a rate that inevitable questions have been asked around the importance and need to protect his 5 lb claim.

It’s food for thought, of course, for those closest to him with an exciting turf season on the horizon, and an imminent trip to America will help to preserve that valuable asset, as well as continue his development as a rider.

“The plan is to head to Florida and join up with David Meah in February,” he explains, “I’ll be riding track work out there for two-three weeks, my dad says there’s a lot to glean from setting the clock right in my head.”

His exploits have also resulted in an invitation to the 15th edition of the Ribot Cup which takes place at San Rossore racecourse in Piza, Italy, on February 25th, and will see some of the best young talent across Europe compete across three races on a point-based system for the coveted prize (Cieren Fallon and Laura Pearson have gone over there in recent years).

“It’s a real honour to be recognised and given the call up,” he says, “and [I’ll] come back fresh and ready to tackle the turf season, all being well, at the Lincoln meeting.”

With the first race imminent we wind up - Billy would go on to ride another treble, incidentally – and Mark comments: “Collectively we just need to keep moving forward and hopefully that champion will come our way”.

For a progressive yard with ambition, that equine star may not be far away; the riding champion is possibly already there.

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