Loughnane eyes right side of the St Leger

DONCASTER, England – Billy Loughnane is relishing the opportunity to partner leading Group 1 St Leger (2,900m) contender Enceladus after he received the call-up on the Joseph O’Brien-trained colt.

With regular rider Dylan-Browne McMonagle out of action due to injury, it will be the 20-year-old Loughnane who gets the privilege of partnering the progressive stayer, who advertised his Leger credentials when stretching clear to land the Group 3 Maison Perrier Gordon Stakes (2,400m) at Glorious Goodwood on July 30.

That success made it three on the bounce for the son of Sea The Stars, adding to victories at Cork and in the valuable King George V Stakes (2,400m) at Royal Ascot on June 18, and unsurprisingly, Loughnane is relishing the chance to get on board in the £700,000 St Leger Stakes, the world’s oldest classic at 250 years of age, on Sept 12.

“It’s a great ride to pick up as he’s been very impressive this summer,” said Loughnane on Sky Sports Racing.

“He’s going through the ranks smoothly and impressing with every start. It will obviously be a stiffer assignment on Saturday.

“But I’d imagine Joseph will have him in fantastic nick. He needs no introduction when it comes to training, so hopefully we can get the job done.”

With Loughnane yet to partner the rapidly improving three-year-old, he will bid to seek advice from both weighing room colleagues Browne McMonagle and Ryan Moore ahead of the red-letter day at Doncaster.

“I’ll speak to the whole team beforehand, and both Dylan and Ryan have ridden him. So I’ll make sure to touch base with them,” said Loughnane whose father Mark is a British-based Irish trainer.

“I’m in a very fortunate position to be picking up such rides. I’ve got a fantastic base of trainers behind me and I’m the lucky one who gets to partner these fantastic horses.”

While it is his father Aidan who has dominated the Doncaster Classic in recent years by winning the last three renewals, O’Brien is no stranger to Leger success.

Should Loughnane manage to steer Enceladus to victory on Saturday, it would surely have a similar feel to when Tom Marquand stepped in for the Covid-19-stricken Shane Crosse at the eleventh hour, to ride Galileo Chrome to O’Brien’s maiden success in the 2020 St Leger. RACING AND SPORTS