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Jockeys Taking Aim

Sly Man's Jockeys Taking Aim — Friday 23 October 2026

The riders I'm watching today — the loaded books, the marquee bookings, the form jocks pinging the radar.

Five riders worth watching today. A loaded book is a market signal in itself — when a form jock has multiple chances, the yard sees the day as live. I read the diaries with one eye on the silks, one on the trainer form. Here's what's caught my eye.

— Sly Man

Today's headline rider 🔥 IN FORM
9 Rides today
18% Career strike
4 Wins last 7d

⚡ Billy Loughnane is the busiest man on the card today with nine rides, and trainers don't hand out books that fat to a jockey who isn't firing. Four winners in the last seven days at an 18% career clip — he arrives here in form and in demand, and that combination doesn't miss often.

  • 4 winners in the last 7 days
  • 9 rides across the card
  • 18% career strike rate (3194 rides)
Today's book 9 rides
  • 16:25 Silks
    Yehudi T: Mark Loughnane
    12/1 Race at 16:25
  • 17:00 Silks
    Typeface T: Ian Williams
    7/1 Race at 17:00
  • 17:30 Silks
    Lady Perdita T: Charlie Johnston
    17/2 Race at 17:30
  • 18:00 Silks
    Stoney Wood T: Michael Bell
    11/8 Race at 18:00
  • 18:30 Silks
    Methgal T: Dylan Cunha
    15/8 Race at 18:30
  • 19:00 Silks
    Just Typical T: Ian Williams
    10/3 Race at 19:00
  • 19:30 Silks
    Arcadian Nights T: Mark Loughnane
    11/1 Race at 19:30
  • 20:00 Silks
    Hilltop T: Daniel & Claire Kubler
    7/2 Race at 20:00
  • 20:30 Silks
    Saxophonist T: David O'Meara
    10/11 Race at 20:30
Today's tally 9 rides ahead
② 🔥 IN FORM

William Buick

3 rides 25% 6 wins · 7d

⚡ William Buick is running hot — six winners in seven days from a man who already converts one in four rides across a 1,541-ride career. Get him onside in the 15:20 where Desert Romance carries a speed rating of 158 and represents the class of his three bookings today.

  • 6 winners in the last 7 days
  • 25% career strike rate (1541 rides)
  • On Desert Romance (SR 158) in the 15:20
Book 3 rides
Today's tally 3 rides ahead
③ 🔥 IN FORM

Harry Skelton

3 rides 27% 7 wins · 7d

⚡ Harry Skelton is on fire right now — seven winners in seven days from a man who already converts at 27% over 1,712 career rides is not a purple patch you ignore. Cooltobecareless in the 15:00 carries a speed rating of 166 and gets Skelton at the peak of his powers; that booking is the one the front pages slept on.

  • 7 winners in the last 7 days
  • 27% career strike rate (1712 rides)
  • On Cooltobecareless (SR 166) in the 15:00
Book 3 rides
Today's tally 3 rides ahead
④ 🔥 IN FORM

Tom Marquand

10 rides 16% 6 wins · 7d

⚡ Tom Marquand is the name to have onside today — six winners in seven days says the hands are hot, and ten bookings across the card tells you the trainers know it too. The 15:20 is the one to circle: Fortis Fortuna carries a 143 speed rating, and when a jockey this warm climbs aboard that kind of firepower, you don't look away.

  • 6 winners in the last 7 days
  • 10 rides across the card
  • On Fortis Fortuna (SR 143) in the 15:20
Book 10 rides
Today's tally 10 rides ahead
⑤ 🔥 IN FORM

Oisin Murphy

5 rides 22% 3 wins · 7d

⚡ Oisin Murphy is hitting form at exactly the right moment — three winners in the last seven days from a man whose 22% career strike rate over 2,809 rides tells you this is no hot streak, this is standard operating procedure. Laurel Crown at 15:55 carries a speed rating of 148, and when Murphy climbs aboard a horse with that kind of number behind it, you don't need much more convincing.

  • 3 winners in the last 7 days
  • 22% career strike rate (2809 rides)
  • On Laurel Crown (SR 148) in the 15:55
Book 5 rides
Today's tally 5 rides ahead