Billy Loughnane signed off 2025 by doing something no Britain-based jockey has managed this century: riding more winners in a calendar year than anyone else.

The 19-year-old Irishman recorded his 222nd victory of the year at Lingfield Park on the final day of the season, breaking the long-standing mark of 221 set by Kieren Fallon in 2003. The milestone came aboard the odds-on favorite Invited, trained by George Boughey, in a one-mile Handicap on the all-weather.

It was a fitting way to end a relentless year. Invited, sent off at 4-5, was Loughnane’s 1,320th ride of 2025 and his penultimate mount of the season. His final ride, Gaiety Musical, finished third. Earlier in the week, he had already drawn level with Fallon’s total at Wolverhampton before finally moving clear at Lingfield after three near-misses on the card.

“There was a little bit of pressure today but I’m delighted to get it done,” Loughnane said. “The last few days have been full on. I’m bored when I’m not riding.”

Beyond the headline number, the scale of the achievement is striking. Loughnane reached the 200-winner mark earlier this month at Lingfield aboard Dandy Khan, joining an exclusive club in just his third year holding a licence. Unlike several jockeys who previously surpassed 200 wins, his tally was built under modern post-pandemic rules that restrict riders to a single meeting per day.

The record-breaking success also carried added significance for Boughey, as Invited’s victory marked the trainer’s 100th winner of the year. Loughnane has been closely linked with the yard since the earliest days of his career.

“I wouldn’t be where I am without George,” Loughnane said. “He’s been everything since I started and supported me the whole way up. I’m delighted to get his 100th winner as well.”

During a standout season, Loughnane also secured the Annual Flat Jockey Championship, awarded for the most winners between January 1 and December 31. That title is separate from the British Flat Jockeys’ Championship, contested during the core summer season and won this year by Oisin Murphy, with Loughnane finishing runner-up.

The all-time British flat record remains Sir Gordon Richards’ extraordinary 269 winners in 1947, but Loughnane’s rise has already been rapid by any modern standard. He rode his first professional winner in late 2022, had 23 victories to his name by January 2023 at just 16, and reached this latest landmark a little over three years after his first race as an apprentice.

Having grown up riding ponies and racing on the pony circuit from an early age, Loughnane’s trajectory suggests this season may be less a peak than a foundation. For now, though, 2025 closes with his name firmly written into the British record books.