Hollie Doyle: Sky Sports Racing ambassador celebrates 1,000-winner milestone as British female jockey record nears
Hollie Doyle has reached 1,000 career winners and is closing in on Hayley Turner as the British female jockey with the most winners; Doyle has celebrated some huge winners at Royal Ascot as well as international success in France, Germany, Japan, Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia
Tuesday 3 September 2024 15:44, UK
It is easy to forget just how rapid the rise has been for Sky Sports Racing ambassador Hollie Doyle. She managed just one winner from 44 rides in 2014, but has now raced to the 1,000 mark and is closing in on becoming Britain's most decorated female jockey.
Doyle has enjoyed Royal Ascot winners, Group One glory and even a Sports Personality of the Year podium finish along the way.
All those successes have been hard earned by Doyle, who despite being born into the world of racing, had to hone her craft to reach the top level and stay there…
From humble beginnings
It was a surprise to nobody that Doyle became a jockey. She grew up around horses - her father Mark a former rider and mother Caroline also having ridden in Arab races.
In 2013, she joined the yard of trainer David Evans in Wales and had the perfect start, winning with her first ride on board The Mongoose at Salisbury.
Two more victories followed in Doyle's first season but the winners then dried up as she made the move to Richard Hannon's powerful yard with the dream of going pro.
Things finally picked up in 2016 as Doyle celebrated 33 winners from 258 rides, including a first high-profile success on Scarlet Dragon in the Old Rowley Cup.
Two more solid seasons followed, featuring a first Listed triumph, before a breakthrough year for Doyle in 2019.
"It was very slow to begin with but then all of a sudden it just took off," Doyle says. "I never got ahead of myself and expected more or was bitter about things. I knew I needed to work on myself and make myself better.
"I wanted to be ready so when I was given the opportunity, I could do it."
Record breaker and seat at the top table
Despite a series of Listed winners for Doyle in 2019, that season was all about quantity over quality and she rode herself into the history books, setting a new record for winners ridden in a calendar year in Britain by a female jockey with 116 victories, smashing Josephine Gordon's previous tally.
That set Doyle up perfectly for what likely still remains her most memorable year.
When racing returned from its pandemic-enforced absence, Doyle stepped things up another level and proved she could mix it with the very best.
Scarlet Dragon provided her with a first Royal Ascot victory in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes and she became the first female jockey in Britain to ride a five-timer, before signing off a truly remarkable turf season with Group One glory aboard Glen Shiel in the Champions Sprint.
By now, Doyle's talents were gaining recognition in wider sporting circles and she was crowned the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year and earned a nomination for the BBC's Sports Personality of the Year, finishing third behind Lewis Hamilton and Jordan Henderson.
"I just couldn't believe it really," Doyle says of her SPOTY appearance. "I was stood up there with Lewis Hamilton, Jordan Henderson, Marcus Rashford and then little old me. It was quite surreal."
Classic glory and international recognition
The following season brought more records for Doyle as she smashed her own tally of winners in a calendar year for the third time.
Brand Hollie was also now global and racegoers in France, Germany, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Japan were all able to share in her successes.
But there remained a target in Doyle's sights for which opportunities were few and far between.
In Nashwa though, Doyle had the perfect partner and the pair showed equal amount of bravery and strength to lift French Oaks glory in the 2022 Prix de Diane.
"She's been pivotal in my career," Doyle says. "That connection with Imad Alsagar and everyone at Blue Diamond Stud came at the perfect time.
"You get to realise that it's great riding 100 winners a year, but ultimately you want to get the quality and thankfully I came across a few good ones all at once."
Champion ambitions and more records in sight
So what's left for Doyle to tick off the wish list? It seems an inevitability that she will soon surpass Hayley Turner as Britain's winning-most female jockey, with her weighing room colleague and long-time inspiration just a handful of winners ahead of her.
Perhaps more ambitious is a shot at being champion jockey. The year 2022 was the closest she has come to date, finishing level in second alongside husband Tom Marquand but a long way behind runaway winner William Buick.
Can she still improve her riding skills? "Yes, definitely," Doyle believes. "I watch every replay I ride and find things I should or shouldn't have done.
"Getting to a certain point is easy enough but staying there is even harder.
"Hopefully one day I'll look back and appreciate everything I've done but at the moment I'm just looking to the future and seeing what I can do."
