Sly Man's Jockeys Taking Aim — Saturday 10 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.
⚡ William Buick rolls in carrying four winners from the last seven days and a 25% career strike rate built across 1,519 rides — this man is not in a cold spell. Seven rides across the card today means he's the busiest gun on the premises, and at that conversion rate, you're looking at the wrong sheet if you're not marking his mounts first.
- 4 winners in the last 7 days
- 25% career strike rate (1519 rides)
- 7 rides across the card
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13:15
The Lost King T: Andrew Balding7/4 🥈 2nd
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13:50
Sword Salute T: Charlie Johnston11/2 4th
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14:25
Rock Montreal T: Roger Varian11/10 🏆 WON
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15:00
Desert Castle T: Charlie Appleby8/13 🥈 2nd
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15:40
Valedictory T: John & Thady Gosden16/1 21st
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16:15
Desert Romance T: Charlie Appleby5/4 🥉 3rd
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16:50
National Honour T: Charlie Appleby11/10 Race at 16:50
Billy Loughnane
⚡ Billy Loughnane is the hottest pair of hands in the weighing room right now — ten winners in seven days is not a purple patch, it's a siege. The Cesarewitch booking at 15:40 tells you the big yards have noticed, and an 18% career strike rate over 3,129 rides says this is no flash in the pan.
- 10 winners in the last 7 days
- 18% career strike rate (3129 rides)
- Booked in Club Godolphin Cesarewitch Handicap Stakes (Heritage Handicap) (GBBPlus Race) at 15:40
- 13:50 Netherstream 17/2 5th
- 14:25 Al Jabbar 6/1 🥉 3rd
- 15:00 Jassas 50/1 5th
- 15:40 Beylerbeyi 5/1 7th
- 16:15 Constella 20/1 4th
- 16:50 Asgar 25/1 🥈 2nd
James Doyle
⚡ James Doyle rolls into Newmarket with a 21% career strike rate across 1,203 rides — numbers that don't lie — and Mr Fox has already nailed his colours to the mast with Cock And Bull in the 15:40 Cesarewitch. When the marquee booking and the heritage handicap land on the same ride, you don't need a second opinion.
- Fox's pick in the 15:40 Newmarket
- 21% career strike rate (1203 rides)
- Booked in Club Godolphin Cesarewitch Handicap Stakes (Heritage Handicap) (GBBPlus Race) at 15:40
- 13:15 Humidity 11/4 🏆 WON
- 13:50 Apulia Bay 5/1 🥉 3rd
- 14:25 Mia Fantasia 14/1 7th
- 15:00 Gentle Hurricane 50/1 4th
- 15:40 Cock And Bull 14/1 🦊 20th
Harry Skelton
⚡ Harry Skelton is running hot — five winners in the last seven days from a man who already converts at 26% across 1,665 career rides. He lands on Hitintheheadlines in the 14:45, a horse rated 145, and that is not a booking you walk past.
- 5 winners in the last 7 days
- 26% career strike rate (1665 rides)
- On Hitintheheadlines (SR 145) in the 14:45
- 13:35 Sacre Chef 15/8 🥉 3rd
- 14:10 Made U Blush 3/1 Fell
- 14:45 Hitintheheadlines 7/1 🏆 WON
- 15:22 Miss Cynthia 11/2 🥉 3rd
- 16:02 The Mighty Celt 5/1 8th
- 17:10 Northern Singer 13/8 🏆 WON
Brian Hughes
⚡ Brian Hughes is running hot — three winners in seven days and a 19% career strike rate across nearly a thousand rides tells you this is a man who converts when it matters. Get him onside in the 15:45 where Tiddesley Wood's speed rating of 133 makes that booking look very tasty indeed.
- 3 winners in the last 7 days
- 19% career strike rate (973 rides)
- On Tiddesley Wood (SR 133) in the 15:45
- 14:20 Happy Harrison 150/1 8th
- 15:05 Medieval Gold 3/1 🏆 WON
- 15:45 Tiddesley Wood 2/1 4th
- 16:55 Dinons 7/1 Pulled up
- 17:30 I've Got A Friend 10/11 🏆 WON