Loy learnt on Monday he had been declared the winner of the Wagga Gold Cup after the John Sargent-trained House Of Cartier was officially disqualified due to a positive swab.

The talented hoop finished runner-up on the John Thompson-trained Maurus.

But in a dramatic post-race twist Maurus has been elevated to the winner after running home strongly to be beaten by half-a-length in the $160,000 feature.

Loy said it was an expected bonus.

"I'll savour the victory because although it's not my hometown cup, it's probably the next best thing to it," Loy said.

"I've had a lot to do with Wagga since I started as a jockey.

"I guess it is a bit of a strange victory.

"There was no crowd on the day either.

"So it was strange in more ways than one - but I'll take it."

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Loy felt winning the listed feature in such controversial circumstances didn't detract from the achievement.

"I feel privileged to win it despite the circumstances," he said.

"In years to come people will see my name on the honour roll and will forget the circumstances surrounding it.

"I think things happen for a reason.

"I was offered the ride on the winner House Of Cartier.

"But I picked John Thompson's horse to ride (Maurus).

"I did my homework and thought it would be a bog track and Maurus was suited best by the conditions.

"My manager tried to talk me out of it and wanted me to ride the stablemate Master Of Arts.

"But I stuck to my guns and rode Maurus at 55kg and really had to bust my gut at the time to get down to the weight.

"At the end of the day a win is a win."

Loy ranks the win as one of the highlights of his career.

It ranks as his second biggest career win after winning aboard the Bjorn Baker-trained Burbero in the group 2 Ajax Stakes at Rosehill in 2015.

"I suppose you miss the buzz of the win and I didn't get to celebrate and I just drove home that night," he said.

"But it's another thing to cross off the bucket list.

"I've set myself the goal to win a group 1, 2 and 3 race and a listed race.

"So the Wagga Cup is a listed race and I won a group 2 race with Burbero in 2015.

"So I'm half-way there.

"I just missed out on winning a group 3 on Noble Boy at Flemington last year.

"You never know your luck in this game and if I keep working hard I could pop up on a group 1 winner at some point.

"You just have to grab opportunities when they arise."