On the day Billy Loughnane picked up his trophy for being leading rider on the all-weather through the winter, he was seen to good effect on the hugely progressive Al Najashi in the BetMGM All-Weather 3 Year Old Championship Handicap at Newcastle.

Loughnane, who also celebrated a victory of some sorts when having a 21-day ban reduced to 14 on Thursday, has long been earmarked as a future champion jockey.

Spotted travelling ominously well with plenty of cover, he pulled Ollie Sangster’s charge out into the clear and he brought up a five-timer with the minimum of fuss at 7-2 from stablemate Eternal Solace.

“He’s been really progressive all winter. It was the first time today he’s probably had to have a proper race,” said Loughnane.

“We went an honest gallop into the wind, but I got a little bit of cover and he picked up well.

“It looked a tough ask on paper having gone up 32lb, but he’d been showing all the right signs when he was winning on the way up.

“The pace was honest, I probably lost a couple of lengths coming right across but it helped me get into the race and I was confident.

“He’s built like a sprinter and I think he’s probably going to get faster the more racing he does, he’s got a bright future.”

For Loughnane – who has a real Classic contender to look forward to in the shape of Bow Echo – it capped another great all-weather season, although there was a tinge of regret that he had just failed to reach three figures.

“The all-weather has a special place in my heart, thankfully I managed to win it again and I rode some nice horses along the way,” he said.

“My dad (Mark Loughnane) trains a lot of all-weather horses, I started out on the all-weather a few years ago and I enjoy it. There’s some really nice horses running on it these days.

“I started off trying to ride 200 winners last year so I gave it a really good kick to begin with, but I then went out to Meydan for a bit and having the opportunity to ride in the Middle East was great. When I came back the ball kept rolling.

“Breaking the record for number of winners in the calendar year (for the 21st century) was great and I’ve ridden some very nice novices that hopefully have bright futures.

“I’m a little disappointed I didn’t quite get the 100 up, but I’ll give it a good go next year. I’m now looking forward to the turf which will hopefully be exciting, I’ve sat on some really nice horses in the morning and afternoons.”