Hear the full interview
From 1:25 in Wednesday’s episode of Nick Luck Daily. Press play to start at the interview.
Godolphin will not say whether William Buick or Billy Loughnane is their number one, after signing the champion jockey as a second retained rider. Hugh Anderson says the pecking order will be decided as the seasons develop.
Loughnane, 20, has been appointed a Godolphin retained rider alongside William Buick and will start formally at the Dubai Carnival in December. “I think British racing has a number of quite disappointing stories flowing around at the moment,” Anderson told Tom Stanley on Wednesday’s show. “This is a story that is an unalloyed positive, and a great reflection on a young man who’s absolutely taking racing by storm. Godolphin could not be more delighted to have secured Billy Loughnane as a retained jockey.”
No set pecking order
Anderson stressed that Buick, who has ridden for Godolphin for more than a decade, is going nowhere, but would not say who will be first choice when the big rides are shared out. “First and foremost, William remains a Godolphin retained jockey, and his 11 years with us have been characterised by huge success,” he said. “He’s been our jockey in a period where I think we’ve had a huge resurgence this century, that’s for sure. He’s been brilliant, he still is brilliant, and he is staying with us. As to the hierarchy, I think we’ve just got to let the seasons develop to see who’s going to be riding exactly what. We’ve got two great jockeys.”
‘Inevitable’, says Persad
Rishi Persad, who joined Tom after the interview, said the signing was “inevitable” given how much Loughnane has ridden for Godolphin. He read Anderson’s comments as a sign that there will be no fixed number one. “It would be weird to have the reigning champion jockey appointed as number two as a retained rider,” he said. “If I was in William’s shoes, I’d feel a little bit unsettled as a professional. But he’s still one of the top riders in the world, and he’s proven that over and over again.”
‘Definitely part of it’
Anderson said the move had come from the top. “Sheikh Mohammed has seen lots of great jockeys over his time as an owner, all the way back into the ’70s, and he was very, very keen that somebody with the obvious talent, drive and work ethic that Billy’s got should ride in the blue silks.”
Loughnane has already ridden plenty of winners for Godolphin and Charlie Appleby, including his first Group 1 on Rebel’s Romance in 2025. Asked whether Godolphin had acted to make sure nobody else signed him first, Anderson said: “Yes, that was definitely part of it. He’s got a great future, and lots of other people will be looking at it.”
“There’s a buzz and an excitement about him which racing hasn’t seen for a long time.”
Hugh Anderson on Billy Loughnane
Loughnane became Britain’s youngest champion jockey for more than a century this year, and won the 2,000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes and Sussex Stakes on Bow Echo. “It’s astonishing how successful he’s been so quickly,” Anderson said. “This was about securing the greatest emerging talent in the jockeys’ ranks as quickly as we could. Anybody who was there at the Guineas or at Royal Ascot will remember that there’s a buzz and an excitement about him which racing hasn’t seen for a long time. It’s going to be great to see him in Godolphin blue.”
Sovereignty ‘an absolute standout’
Anderson also looked back on Sovereignty’s Breeders’ Cup Classic win at Keeneland, a year after the colt missed the race. Sovereignty, who now retires to stud along with stablemate Knightsbridge, has given Godolphin two firsts. “Last year was disappointing,” Anderson said. “What’s so great about this horse is that he’s broken two records for Godolphin: our first winner of the Kentucky Derby, and then our first winner of the Breeders’ Cup Classic. He’s an absolute standout by any of our standards, and I expect he’s going to be a great stallion.”
“The race itself was one of those races that unfolded exactly as was planned,” he added. “Knightsbridge set the pace, and Sovereignty just took it up, and he was outstanding.”
