Steward, Louis

But the best was yet to come.

When Irish trainer Johnny Murtagh found himself without a jockey for Ebor runner Mutual Report because his own stable apprentice was banned, owner Andrew Tinkler suggested Louis as a replacement, citing him as a more than capable 5lb claimer.

Murtagh admitted that he had never heard of him, meeting Louis for the first time in the weighing room, and was impressed when the teenager told him how he wanted to ride the race.

Two furlongs out Louis still had a double handful and, with others around him toiling off the bit, Mutual Regard carried him to the front.

'I got there a bit too soon.' said Louis after, 'but others came with me and sat on his girth which kept him going forward.

'I'd ridden the race a thousand times in my head but I was still surprised when it came off.'

Mutual Regard was the 47th winner of Louis's career.

It had all stated for Louis when, as a youngster, he had competed in show jumping and gymkhanas.

'I rode ponies when I was little.' he recalled. 'My mum's uncle owned a horse called Jupiter Island trained by Clive Brittain. A charity day was sometimes held at Yarmouth and I used to go and got into it that way.

'My grandfather (Eric Steward) is into racing and I began to build up a good understanding of the sport when I was 14 through watching it with him.

'I went to The British Racing School at Newmarket when I was 15, and it's just gone on from there.'

August 2014: Louis is based with leading Newmarket trainer Michael Bell and lives with retired jockey Philip Robinson who has become something of a mentor to him.

'Living with Philip is a good set up to have,' said Louis. 'He is definitely one of my idols and I can talk to him whenever I want. After every race we will go through it and if there's something I'm not sure about, he will help me out 100 per cent.'

Louis had originally been with another ex-jockey turned trainer Paul D'Arcy and had taken a few rides for the stable but when D'Arcy lost several horses, Louis got chatting to Phillip Robinson who arranged a meeting with Michael Bell.

Speaking of Bell,  Louis said, 'It's going well. 2013 was my first year with Michael and I've had fifty rides which is really good for a big stable like that. He's a good boss in the sense that he's willing to put you up, has a lot of faith in you and doesn't tie you down to instructions. He tells you to go out and enjoy yourself instead of putting a lot of pressure on me.'

He made his racecourse debut on 20 June, 2012, riding Mcbirney in an Apprentice race at Kempton.

Louis rode his first winner (on his seventh ride) on September 17, 2012, when Tigertoo won at Wolverhampton.

He rode out his 7lb claim at Lingfield Park on January 25, 2014. He also enjoyed his first double the same afternoon which, as he stated later, 'was one of those days which I will remember for a very long time.'

He'll remember Mutual Regard, too.