Principal Trainer: Dessie Hughes
Notable Wins:
- Winning Fair Juvenile Hurdle (Kyrie Eleison 2009, First Row 2006)
- Bobbyjo Chase (Black Apalachi 2009)
- Bewleys Hotel Dublin Airport EBF Mares Hurdle (Grangeclare Lark 2007 + 2006)
- Bewleys Hotel Dublin Airport EBF Mares Hurdle (Grangeclare Lark 2007 + 2006)
- Midlands National Handicap Chase (First Row 2007)
- Bewleys Hotels Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Hurdle (Grangeclare Lark 2007)
- Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Hurdle (Grangeclare Lark 2007)
- Baileys Arkle Perpetual Challenge Cup Novice Chase (Schindlers Hunt 2007)
- Durkan New Homes Novice Chase (Schindlers Hunt 2006)
- Galway Plate (Far From Trouble 2006)
- Tied Cottage Chase (Central House 2006)
- Hilly Way Chase (Central House 2005)
- Fortria Chase (Central House 2005)
- Woodlands Park 100 Club Novice Chase (I’vehadit 2003)
Early Days
It all began for Loughran when his father gave in to his constant pleas and bought him a pony. From there his interest increasingly grew and at the tender age of 16, he left his Co. Meath home to live in Kildare and attend RACE, the world-renowned school for young jockeys.
Despite suffering a broken leg during his time in RACE, he showed admirable determination to recover and finish the course, but he had to work hard to get noticed thereafter. Having joined the late Patrick O’Leary in Kildare, he spent two years there before taking a job with Christy Roche. Whilst there, he had around 18 rides on the racecourse, but second was the closest he came to winning. In late-2000, Loughran made a career-changing decision to leave Roche’s yard to take a new job with Dessie Hughes.
A Promising Start
Just three months into his job with Hughes, Loughran rode his first winner on Kildare in a bumper at Naas in May 2001. He went on to ride that same horse to finish third in the Grade 1 Champion Bumper at Punchestown just under two years after that win, but he had plenty of success between those two runs. He formed a profitable partnership with I’vehadit during those years, winning a bumper, a beginner chase and the 2003 renewal of the Grade 3 Woodlands Park 100 Club Novice Chase at Naas. He also impressed when winning a bumper on Poker Pal and two bumpers on Liscannor Lad.
The 2003/4 season was slightly quieter for Loughran, with the highlights coming when he rode Tipp Top to win a maiden hurdle and a handicap hurdle within just over a fortnight. He had a similar season in terms of winners and prize money won during 2004/5, but the following season would see Loughran break into the public eye, riding almost three times as many winners as he had done in any previous season.
Breaking Out
The horse that more than any other was responsible for Loughran’s rise to public prominence was the Dessie Hughes-trained Central House. Loughran rode the John Kenny-owned gelding to victory in a bumper at Punchestown in November 2002, but he did not partner him again until just over a year later when he rode the now Grade 2-placed novice hurdler to victory in a beginners chase at Fairyhouse. However it would be another 16 months before Loughran would ride him again over jumps and in that time, the Alflora gelding had twice won at Grade 1 level and twice at Grade 2 level. Loughran regained the ride on Central House in the valuable Dan Moore Memorial Handicap Chase at the Fairyhouse Easter Festival in 2005 where his connections were hoping his 5lb claim would ease his 12 stone burden. While he could only finish third on that occasion, his performance was enough for the gelding’s connections to allow him to retain the ride at the beginning of the 2005/6 season.
Having begun the season with a credible third in a Galway handicap chase, Central House and Loughran lined up for the Grade 2 Fortria Chase against the incomparable Moscow Flyer and hopes were understandably modest. However, under an aggressive Loughran ride, Central House scored an unlikely victory over the reigning Champion Chaser to record undoubtedly the biggest win of his young career. Similar tactics saw the pair supplement that win with a victory in the Grade 2 Hilly Way Chase at Cork the following month. It was after that win that Loughran made the decision to turn professional having ridden 37 winners in total as an amateur. When he was booked to ride Central House in the Grade 1 Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase at Leopardstown later that month, he looked to have excellent prospects of making his first winner as a professional his first win at the highest level. However, the race would bring Loughran to international attention for all the wrong reasons.
Carnage At Leopardstown
Having once again adopted front-running tactics, Central House and Loughran looked to hold all the aces having seemingly mastered Fota Island and his other four rivals on the run-in, but nobody could have anticipated the drama that would unfold in the final 100 yards. Loughran, having mistaken the winning post, stood up in his irons, punched the air and eased his mount, unaware that there was still 100 yards left to race. This allowed both Hi Cloy and Fota Island to overtake Central House close home. As well as being handed a 14-day ban for the error of judgement, the race made national news headlines and threatened to stall or even finish Loughran’s career in the saddle. However, luckily for him, he received huge support from both Dessie Hughes and the Irish racing public. Indeed, just over a month after that infamous Leopardstown race, Loughran was back on board Central House in the Grade 2 Tied Cottage Chase at Punchestown. Riding like a man possessed, Loughran drove Central House to a memorable six lengths win that was greeted with a rousing reception from the crowd and obviously meant a huge amount to him.
Onwards And Upwards
The following August at the Galway Festival, Loughran gained a hugely-significant success on the Christy Roche-trained Far From Trouble in the Galway Plate. Loughran played the role of super-sub on that occasion as the rider that had been originally booked for the JP McManus owned gelding, Tony McCoy, suffered a horror fall earlier in the day which resulted in him badly breaking and dislocating his wrist. However, Loughran proved more than up to the challenge of filling the boots of arguably the greatest jump jockey in living memory when giving the seven-year-old a no-nonsense ride to make steady ground on the final circuit before leading with a furlong to run and forging clear to prevail by 3½l from Ansar.
Later that year, Loughran teamed up with the Dessie Hughes-trained Schindlers Hunt to great effect to get off the mark at Grade 1 level, winning the Durkan New Homes Novice Chase at the Christmas meeting at Leopardstown and gaining another win at the highest level on him in the Baileys Arkle Perpetual Challenge Cup Novice Chase at the same track later in the season. Another profitable partner for him during the course of the season was the Dessie Hughes-trained Grangeclare Lark, with the pair teaming up to gain two wins at Grade 3 level and one win at listed level, all in mares’ hurdles. At the conclusion of the season, Loughran had ridden a career-best total of 22 winners and also amassed by far his biggest total of prize money for a campaign.
Consolidation
While he did not enjoy the same level of big-race success in 2007/8 and 2008/9 as he had in 2006/7, they were the seasons that saw Loughran consolidate his position in the Irish National Hunt weighing room, riding 19 and 24 winners respectively. That period did see him make the occasional visit to the big-race winner’s enclosure, with him winning the 2007 renewal of the Midlands National Handicap Chase at Kilbeggan on the Dessie Hughes-trained First Row and later that year he gained his second consecutive success on Grangeclare Lark in the listed Bewleys Hotel Dublin Airport EBF Mares Hurdle at the Christmas meeting at Leopardstown. However, without doubt Loughran’s best day during those two seasons came at Fairyhouse on February 21st 2009 as he completed a Grade 2 double for Dessie Hughes by winning the Winning Fair Juvenile Hurdle on Kyrie Eleison and the Bobbyjo Chase on Black Apalachi.
It has been a similar story for Loughran in the 2009/10 and 2010/11 seasons. Big-race wins have been in short supply, but he maintained a healthy strike rate in bread-and-butter races throughout the campaigns. The latter campaign was also notable in that it saw Loughran have his first ride in the Aintree Grand National, with him getting a great spin on the Dessie Hughes-trained Vic Venturi until being unseated at the 20th fence.
Loughran continues to ride as well as ever and granted a bit of luck, it is unlikely to be too long before he returns to the big-race winner’s enclosure.
Info supplied by Horse Racing Ireland - Updated January 2011
