Jockey Hollie Doyle© Photo Healy Racing
Hollie Doyle brought up a landmark 1,000th career winner in steering Leyhaimur to victory at Goodwood on Tuesday.
Doyle has rewritten the history books since registering her first success 11 years ago, breaking the record for the number of winners ridden by a female jockey in 2019 by chalking up 116 triumphs.
She has enjoyed big-race glory at home and abroad since, just last month registering her ninth European Group One win aboard Bradsell in the Nunthorpe at York.
After drawing a blank from six rides at Brighton on Monday, Doyle headed to the Sussex Downs in need of a double to achieve the four-figure mark and struck first aboard the Robert Cowell-trained Almaty Star in the five-furlong handicap.
She was out of luck in the following race, finishing eighth of 10 on Shimmering Spin, but was soon back in the winner’s circle as David Simcock’s 6-1 shot Leyhaimur ran out a two-and-a-half-length winner of the fillies’ nursery.
“Never when I started off my career did I imagine I would ride this many winners,” a jubilant Doyle told Racing TV.
“I’m just really grateful for all the support I’ve had so far; from trainers, owners, my agent – they’ve done a great job for me so far, even though I’m probably a nightmare to work for.
“Now all I can think about is the next thousand!”
Doyle has ridden more than 100 winners every year since 2019, with her best tally so far totalling 172 in 2021, and she has already broken the century for this season.
In 2020 she made the breakthrough on the biggest stage, celebrating her first Royal Ascot winner when Alan King’s Scarlet Dragon landed the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes. She also rode a five-timer at Windsor and secured her first Group-race success on Dame Maillot in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and became retained ride for Derby-winning owner Imad Al Sagar.
Perhaps even more significantly, Doyle became the first woman to ride a winner on Qipco British Champions Day at Ascot through her old ally Trueshan, before recording a landmark first Group One success when making it a double on Glen Shiel in the Champions Sprint.
Other major achievements include being named Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year, as well as taking third place in the coveted BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.
Doyle is now thoroughly established at the top of the riding ranks, having secured further Group One gold on Trueshan, The Platinum Queen, Nashwa and Bradsell, while in 2022 she was joint-second in the jockeys’ championship – riding the same amount of winners as her husband, Tom Marquand.
She has also enjoyed success on foreign soil, riding 13 winners during a two-month spell in Japan, winning the Italian Oaks on Shavasana and partnering True Self to victory for Willie Mullins in the richly-endowed Neom Turf Cup in Saudi Arabia.
Doyle is not the first British-based female jockey to enjoy 1,000 career victories, with Hayley Turner having accomplished the feat last year.
However, while Turner took 23 years – including some hefty injury absences and a period of retirement – to reach the mark, Doyle has taken less than half that time.
She added: “I was riding for about six years or so before I really got going, so it feels like an age to me, but obviously statistically it’s all happened in a short period of time and it feels like two minutes ago since I had my first ride.”
Reflecting on her biggest triumphs, Doyle said: “I’m really lucky, I’ve come across some really nice horses, so I’ve been very blessed, but I suppose my first Group One on Glen Shiel was a big day and then Nashwa came with my first Classic winner, so they are days I’ll never forget.
“But the Goodwood Cup here (on Trueshan) was a pretty good day as well and hopefully I’ve got plenty more good days to look forward to as well.”
Trueshan has provided Doyle with 10 of her winners and she continued: “We’ve had our ups and downs, some days haven’t gone as planned, but we’ve had some great days in the sun, including this year.
“He’s hopefully just as effective as he has been in previous years and I look forward to seeing him back out.”
Her partnership with Archie Watson has gone from strength to strength, but Doyle is also grateful to other handlers.
She said: “Archie has been a huge supporter of mine, but I started off with Dave Evans, who gave me a really good grounding, then I went on to Richard Hannon’s, where I rode my claim out and they gave me a great education and prepared me for life as a professional jockey.
“I took the step into Archie’s yard and it’s just progressed from there really.”
As for future ambitions, Doyle declared: “Obviously, I want to ride as many Group One winners as I can, I think that’s every jockey’s dream.
“My ultimate dream was to be champion, but I know that’s very hard. I want it enough and I’ve got the work ethic for it, it’s just whether I’m capable or good enough.”
