Five up-and-coming jockeys to follow throughout the flat racing season including Royal Ascot’s breakthrough stars
Royal Ascot produced nine first-time winners as the meeting highlighted top talents rising through the ranks, including Marco Ghiani, Laura Pearson and Cieren Fallon; Rossa Ryan missed Royal Ascot but returned with Group Two success last weekend
Friday 2 July 2021 11:03, UK
William Buick, Oisin Murphy and Tom Marquand may be battling it out for the title of champion flat jockey this season, but behind the lead trio is a wave of up-and-coming stars to take note of.
Royal Ascot week showcased the best of the talent and highlighted how the young guns are able to mix it with the big names, with nine first-time winners recorded during the five-day meeting.
Here is a look at five names to follow this season and beyond.
Marco Ghiani
This smiley, fresh-faced apprentice is two winners away from reaching a significant milestone in his young career.
A 95th victory will see the 22-year-old ride-out his three-pound claim and could come, rather remarkably, shortly after just 600 career rides.
Ghiani is already past the 50 mark for winners this year, including a first Royal Ascot success on board Real World, who ran out a mightily impressive winner of the usually tightly-contested Royal Hunt Cup.
That came in Godolphin's famous blue colours, for trainer Saeed bin Suroor, a partnership which is proving particularly fruitful for all involved.
Laura Pearson
Another first-time winner at the Royal meeting was Laura Pearson, who gave Lola Showgirl a dazzling, front-running victory in the Kensington Palace Stakes.
Having ridden just one winner from 11 rides in 2018, the 20-year-old now has 27 winners and counting this year.
Pearson is now a proud member of a rather exclusive, but rapidly expanding, club. She joins Hollie Doyle, Hayley Turner and Gay Kelleway as female winning riders at Royal Ascot.
Pearson's career is going from strength to strength, bolstered by the support of numerous trainers, including the likes of in-form David Loughnane, eager to get her on board.
Rossa Ryan
Quite incredibly, considering he is just 20-years-old, Rossa Ryan is already closing in on 300 career winners, racking up over 60 in each of the last four years.
Ryan's talent earned him the retained rider spot for a potentially new powerhouse of owners, the Amo Racing Club - run by football agent Kia Joorabchian.
A broken collarbone sidelined the popular jockey early in the season and a subsequent operation to treat appendicitis saw him miss Royal Ascot.
But, Ryan returned in style, winning the Group Two Railway Stakes on Go Bears Go for Loughnane and Amo Racing. There should be many more Group successes to come from this young man.
Cieren Fallon
This name might sound familiar, even to those who follow racing loosely, and it should.
Fallon - or Fallon Junior as he is commonly known - is the son of six-time champion jockey Kieren Fallon.
The former champion apprentice recently passed the 150-winner mark and recorded his first Royal Ascot success with Oxted in the King's Stand Stakes.
He has a way to go to match his father's tally of 2,578 career winners, including 30 at Royal Ascot, but the 22-year-old has made a fine start.
Callum Shepherd
Another from a very talented family is Callum Shepherd, whose twin brother Laird recently secured a place at three of golf's next four major championships after producing an epic comeback to win the 126th Amateur Championship.
Last year proved to be a game-changer for Callum, riding a personal record 77 winners, 20 higher than his previous best.
That followed a relocation to Newmarket, where he became retained rider for leading owners Bill and Tim Gredley.
He has proved a consistent success story, rather quietly racking up over 300 career winners, with a strike rate of 10 per cent.
