Victory on Diderot at Lingfield Park’s All-Weather Vase Day helped confirm Danny Muscutt as All-Weather Champion Jockey for the first time, as the All-Weather champions were crowned following the conclusion of the season.
The 27-year-old, son of Summerveld trainer Peter Muscutt, and Hollywoodbets first Northern Hemisphere sponsored jockey, has been locked in a fierce tussle with Kevin Stott throughout the winter and only three winners separated the pair heading into Good Friday.
Muscutt’s win at Lingfield Park moved him onto 73 wins for the season, while Stott was unable to add to his tally of 69, with three seconds at Newcastle.
Danny proudly poses for the photographer with his cheque
Muscutt said: “It has been enjoyable – there have been lots of cold evenings, snow and all sorts, so it’s nice to come out the other end. My agent has done a very good job and I’ve had lots of support from a wide range of trainers, so a big thanks to them. The first two-thirds of the season flew by but the last few weeks seemed to drag quite a bit, so it’s nice to get over the line.
“I like to stay busy on the all-weather as it keeps my weight in check. I was pretty quiet until the turn of the year. Most of my main trainers were only running in the odd maiden here or there but I was ticking over nicely until those bigger yards clicked in nicely during January and February, when I was able to make up the deficit on Kevin [Stott].
“There are probably four or five new trainers that I’ve ridden winners for this winter so it’s nice to get those in the book and I’m just grateful for everyone’s support. The all-weather can sometimes be certain horses’ only chance of winning a race, so you come into contact with a lot more people than you probably would in the summer and they always seem to get a brilliant buzz out of it.”
Dale Gibson, Executive Director of the Professional Jockeys Association, said: “The PJA congratulates the winners from each category. The All-Weather Champion Jockey race went down to the wire, with both Danny and Kevin riding to a high level throughout.
“Everyone who has participated over the winter period also deserves credit helping to keep the show on the road. We thank ARC for their continued support.”
Mick Appleby was crowned All-Weather Champion Trainer for the sixth consecutive season and a seventh time in total. The Rutland trainer, who secured his first title in 2015/16, enjoyed his most successful campaign with 60 winners.
Appleby said: “It’s been a great winter. I take my hat off to all the team at home who have done a great job all winter, riding out in blizzards, pouring rain, and freezing cold, so hats off to them all.
“We’ve had 90 horses in all winter, so luckily we’ve got a good team behind us. At Christmas time, I thought we had no chance, but we kept going and had 20 winners through January.
“We’ve got quite a lot of new ones in that took a bit of time to get going, so we were a bit slower to get going than normal.”
Teenage sensation Billy Loughnane turned the All-Weather Champion Apprentice category into a one-horse race, amassing more than double the winners as his closest challenger.
The 17-year-old notched his first career success at Wolverhampton in November and has not looked back, with his final tally of 41 including a remarkable 23 winners in January alone.
Loughnane said: “It’s great to be crowned All-Weather Champion Apprentice and a massive thank you to everyone that has helped and supported me through the whole thing. My dad, obviously, my jockey coach Rodi Greene and my agent Sash Righton, between us all we’ve started off a good bond and it’s been great.
“The couple of trebles were great, my first winner for Godolphin was class and today has been up there as well.
“The pony racing helped me massively. It’s the best way to start and you don’t even have to have a pony to start racing, there are people that lend you ponies and help with the practice – it’s class and the best way to start.”
Godolphin continues its domination of the All-Weather Champion Owner category, with 42 victories securing a ninth successive title.
A record 27 000 people went racing on Good Friday, with approximately 9 500 attendees at Bath, 9 100 at Lingfield Park and 8 500 at Newcastle.
