BILLY LOUGHNANE BECOMES THE YOUNGEST BRITISH CHAMPION JOCKEY IN OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS

By Graham Potter | Saturday, October 17, 2026

He is no longer the new boy on the block. In fact, even the nickname ‘Billy The Kid’ no longer seems entirely appropriate given the standing of twenty-year-old Billy Loughnane who will be officially crowned Britain’s Champion Flat Racing Jockey at the Qatar Racing British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday.

Loughnane has had the title safely within his keeping for several weeks, but Saturday is the day his achievement is officially recognised, making him the youngest rider to claim that distinction for over one hundred years … following on the nineteen year old Charlie Elliot in 1923.

This is a phenomenal achievement y Loughnane, given that he only took his first race ride four years ago (on October 24, 2022). He rode his first winner a month later and he has been on the fast track to success since then, outriding his claim in just eleven months with those winners helping him land the British Champion Apprentice title in 2023 … and there has been no stopping him from there.

Loughnane finished second to Oisin Murphy in the 2025 Jockeys Championship, and he has now reversed that result this year. It was a protracted struggle between these two jockeys for some time, before Loughnane moved away late in the season to put the issue beyond doubt.

Going into Saturday Loughnane leads Murphy by twenty-five winners, so, whatever happens, it will be a day of celebration for the new champion, but it will be a measured one.

“No party,” said Loughnane. “I’m not a big drinker or anything like that. I have a meal with my family and friends on the evening of Champions Day.”

Oisin Murphy was gracious in ‘defeat’

“Credit has to go to Billy. At twenty-years-old, the fact he’s stayed suspension-free since around mid-May is truly extraordinary,” said Murphy. “The discipline to not make any errors. He has done terrifically, and he is a lovely fella.

“He works hard at his weight, and I have an awful lot of admiration for him."

A title well won … and a concession speech well said!