Khadijah Mellah claims fairytale win in Magnolia Cup
Teenager from Peckham only sat on racehorse for first time in April, and is first rider to race wearing a hijab in Britain
Thursday 1 August 2019 22:09, UK
Student Khadijah Mellah registered a fairytale victory as she steered Haverland to victory in the Magnolia Cup at Goodwood on Thursday.
The 18-year-old is the UK's first female Muslim jockey, and also became the first rider to race in a hijab in Britain as she delivered her Charlie Fellowes-trained mount with a perfectly-timed run to lift the ladies-only charity race.
Mellah, who hails from Peckham in South London and is set to study mechanical engineering at university in September, learnt to ride at the Ebony Horse Club charity in Brixton - but sat on a racehorse for the first time only in April.
She certainly belied her lack of experience, as she exercised plenty of patience aboard Haverland, only making her move coming into the final furlong.
It was a blanket finish to the race, but after a tense wait, Haverland was eventually called the winner by the judge.
Mellah is now hoping to build on her success, with an amateur licence in her sights, and hopes her triumph will serve as a beacon to others.
She said: "There are no words to describe it. I can't believe it, to be fair.
"I'm just so glad everyone is here to support me and that Haverland did well and he is OK. He is such an amazing horse and I love him so much.
"Initially, at the beginning, I'm not used to so much attention - there were so many cameras and people trying to feed me information. It was a bit crazy and then we set off.
"Everyone was on the ball at the start and there were three horses in a line in front of me, like a brick wall, and the kickback was flying in my face and I didn't know what to do, so I pulled out to see what would happen.
"I passed the person next to me and I thought, 'I can't believe it is happening'. I then I saw all the family and friends come past and I started crying uncontrollably. It has been amazing.
"Ambitious women can make it and that is what I want to represent. I've had so much support and I can't wait to see other stories of other women doing the same and getting into the industry.
"I'm definitely going to try to get my amateur licence. I definitely want to keep going at it, as I've loved every second.
"It's been a whirlwind and a bit crazy. There has been loads of travelling and meeting new people and I love meeting new people. There have been early mornings and fitness training, but it has been well worth it.
"I bumped into him (Frankie Dettori) yesterday and he gave me a hug and I thought, 'oh my god, this is happening' and it really pumped me up."
