Hollie Doyle: Glorious Goodwood atmosphere 'electric' after Group One but now aim is to stay at the top
Hollie Doyle rode a treble from her only three rides at Glorious Goodwood on Tuesday, including victory on Trueshan in the Group One Goodwood Cup; Doyle now has two Group One successes and more winners than any other flat jockey in the UK this year
Wednesday 28 July 2021 13:40, UK
Hollie Doyle's rise to the top was emphasised with a Glorious Goodwood treble and a second career Group One success on Tuesday but now the challenge is to stay there.
The Sky Sports Racing ambassador enjoyed one of her greatest days on a racetrack, winning all three of her rides on the opening day of the famous mid-summer meeting.
Doyle has now ridden 110 winners this year, just six less than her total for the whole of 2019 and 14 more than champion jockey Oisin Murphy.
- Doyle rides Glorious treble as Trueshan takes Goodwood Cup
- Hollie Doyle blog: A Glorious day to win second Group One
"I can't complain, things are going well," Doyle told Sky Sports Racing. "It's everything I've worked towards and getting here is tough but staying where I am is even harder. That's the aim, to keep going forward."
Doyle's first Group One triumph came back in October, riding Glen Shiel to victory on Champions Day at Ascot.
No spectators were there that day to enjoy the moment with Doyle, but Tuesday's win, in front of an "electric" crowd in Sussex, was a real moment to savour.
"It felt a lot different," Doyle said. "On Champions Day, I was just so appreciative of the position I was in and never really considered there being a crowd or not.
"This [Goodwood Cup] was my first experience of a really big win with a crowd there. The atmosphere was just electric."
Trueshan's victory also provided trainer Alan King with his first Group One victory on the flat.
Doyle says King's decision to run his star stayer in the Northumberland Plate last month as preparation for Goodwood was a stroke of genius.
Asked if she was always confident in the Goodwood Cup, Doyle said: "I was from halfway. Early on I was a bit worried because he was a bit keen. He's such a long-striding horse and I needed them to go on a bit.
"Luckily, at halfway I let him slide into a handier position and he took a breath, dropped the bridle and went through the gears.
"It was a shrewd move from Alan [to run in the Northumberland Plate]. People thought he was mad with the weight he carried but he needed to get him out. It would have been very frustrating if he hadn't have had that run in between.
"I definitely think it made the difference. He was still gassy enough and I think the dynamics of the track just enhanced it that little bit more.
"He's phenomenal. I first won on him at Wolverhampton (in August 2019) and then we went to Ffos Las. Little did I know then that I'd be winning the Group One Goodwood Cup on him a few years later."
