Billy ‘The Kid’ Loughnane can be new ‘face of racing’ and next Dettori after Godolphin deal

The combination of prodigious talent in the saddle and an easy likeability out of it is a perfect fit for Dubai operation

“I want to ride more Group One winners,” Billy Loughnane said last month when asked to name his main ambition for 2027, and Britain’s new 20-year-old champion jockey seems all but certain to achieve his aim, following Wednesday’s news that he has signed a retainer to ride in the royal blue colours of Sheikh Mohammed’s global Godolphin operation next year.

Loughnane will be contracted alongside William Buick as one of two retained Godolphin jockeys next year, and not as an outright No 1, but even if Loughnane does not claim the lion’s share of the best rides as soon as next year, his trajectory within the operation seems clear.