Billy Loughnane urged to ‘enjoy the moment’ by Frankie Dettori

“Enjoy the moment”. That is what Frankie Dettori told Billy Loughnane, the heir apparent to his weighing-room crown, after another magical moment aboard Bow Echo in the Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes.

The rider himself may dismiss such talk and insist he is simply ‘Billy’, the 20-year-old with the luckiest seat in racing.

However, anyone watching the action unfold on a glorious Goodwood afternoon could not help but marvel at the artistry on show from a young rider who alongside his most cherished mount once again dazzled in the spotlight.

It takes a special horse to turn up the volume on the typically serene Sussex Downs, but just as happened at Newmarket in May and again in the most regal setting of Royal Ascot, the George Boughey-trained Bow Echo brought the noise and the man on board was only too happy to lap up the adulation.

Loughnane said: “This means everything and when I took Bow Echo down to the furlong pole the reception we got there and on the way back in was magical. It proves what a following this horse has got, it’s amazing and a feeling like no other.

“He will be one of the best horses I’ll ever partner and to have him at 20 years old is a dream come true.

“Frankie Dettori, said ‘well done and enjoy the moment’. I know how lucky I am to partner a horse like this. It’s always a pinch yourself moment and I’ve been lucky to win three of the biggest Group Ones on him.”

It has been the massed ranks of Ballydoyle and in particularly Gstaad who have attempted in vain to topple Bow Echo so far this term and his old foe lay in wait with Ryan Moore once again at the mile start.

Gstaad had reduced his hefty 2000 Guineas deficit to just a short head at Royal Ascot and many pondered if the twists, turns and undulations of a track notorious for tales of misfortune could wreak havoc on Bow Echo and his foot-perfect career.

However, try as his rivals might, there was just no stopping a horse who has now become the first since Frankel to do the 2000 Guineas, St James’s Palace, Sussex Stakes treble, with the man on his back inch perfect once again in delivering Boughey’s master plan.

Loughnane added: “When I sat down with George and watched the last so many runnings of this race, we always thought it suited a closer and horses have been able to get out late and that’s what we were able to do today.

“We knew there was plenty of pace in the race to ensure it was a testing gallop and I found Ryan’s tail after a couple of furlongs and I was happy, but then Christophe (Soumillon, on Puerto Rico) arrived on my outside and had me in a little bit of a pocket.

“They didn’t make it easy for me and I had to manoeuvre a little bit for a run, but when he did he really let down well and showed his blistering turn of foot.

“I had to just wait to get out, but I wasn’t worried, I still had a furlong and a half from there to the line. From there onwards I knew I was always going to run him down.

“Hopefully that can silence them (the doubters). What a superstar of a horse. Today was a tough race for him with plenty of runners and we ended up a long way back, but he’s got a proper engine.”

If Loughnane was precision personified in the saddle, it was his ice-cool temperament pre-race that had settled nerves that had been bubbling to a crescendo shortly before the 4.10pm off time.

With the jockeys’ championship leader on his side, those nerves proved unfounded, with the Newmarket handler now running out of superlatives for his rider.

Boughey said: “He’s phenomenal. It’s been a nervy day today and then Billy comes bounding into the paddock and I thought if he’s as chilled as that then I need to calm down a bit.

“He’s 20 and half a generation younger than me and I’m considered young in this game, but he has every attribute you would want.

“I’m a racing fan who loves training and racing these top horses and to be able to show the racing public this horse we have has given me a huge amount of satisfaction. He’s a star with a fantastic mind and looking like the complete racehorse at the moment.

“But most of all he’s got the right man riding him and he’s a real showboy, he loves it and he’s an outstanding rider.”