02 March 2023 , 19:14
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Rising star of the saddle Billy Loughnane didn’t let an unexpected intruder stop him picking up where he left off before he took a break in the US.
The teenage sensation, known as ‘Billy The Kid’, rode a winner on his first ride back, when he steered Zealot to victory at Newcastle on Thursday.
Loughnane, 17, was leading the field on the 11-8 favourite approaching a furlong and a half out when a deer shot across the track in front of the runners and dashed under the rail.
Deer are known to graze around the Gosforth Park track but the racecourse has employed staff to keep an eye out for them.
The incident prompted a stewards inquiry at which Loughnane and clerk of the course Eloise Quayle were interviewed.
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“The Clerk of the Course explained that there are current measures, such as positioning a deer spotter in known deer crossings and that on this occasion, it was unusual for the deer to be in this location,” the stewards report said.
“The Clerk of the Course added that this area would be monitored in future. The Stewards noted this explanation.”
Loughnane, the son of trainer Mark Loughnane, rode 23 winners in January having only had his first ride in November 2022.
He took the whole of February off and travelled to Florida to gain more experience by riding track work at Gulfstream Park.
“It was an amazing experience out in America,” he told Sky Sports Racing. “I learnt loads. It was a massive eye-opener and amazing to see how they do things out there.”