Having recently become the most successful female flat racing jockey, surpassing previous record-holder, Hayley Turner on career victories, Hollie Doyle (now on 1,023 career victories), has an open course ahead of her.
While she has already had some notable wins, including Group 1 races – the British Champion Sprint Stakes and the Goodwood Cup to name a couple, she will be aiming to target even more prizes.
Doyle has even won multiple times at Royal Ascot – her first victory coming in 2020 in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes, aboard Scarlett Dragon, while in 2020, she also scooped the accolades. She won The Sunday Times Sportswoman of the year and Flat Jockey of the Year, while also placing third in the British Sports Personality of the Year Award. Meanwhile in 2021, she recorded a Personal Best, with 172 wins in a single season.
What Else Will She Have Her Eyes On?
Despite what has been a remarkable career so far, she may feel she is only just getting started and, I certainly think that there is no limit to what she can achieve. There are definitely still some career landmarks that she will want to tick off.
Any ambitious jockey will definitely want to win the St Ledger Stakes at Doncaster, raced over one mile and six furlongs and I think this is certainly possible. Both the Epsom Oaks and Epsom Derby and two other prestigious races and if you win these as a jockey, you really are broaching the ‘untouchable’ status. And then, you have the 1,000 and 2,000 Guinaes at Newmarket.
Looking further afield I certainly believe that the ultimate for her (and for any jockey) is the Prix de l’Arc De Triomphe in Paris, France – arguably the most prestigious race in the world, attracting some of the best in the sport.
Meanwhile, the Breeders’ Cup Races in the US – a series of Grade 1 races can give her the opportunity to increase her status stateside – by which point, she could already have an even more impressive CV than she does now and I think, in terms of how ‘exotic’ it is, she will definitely be wanting to secure an invite to (and win) the Japan Cup.
Could She Be The Best Ever?
I think the one thing that she has on her side is time, at just 28 years old, there will be plenty of opportunities to really lay down a marker, to add to the one, she already has.
Being appointed captain of the Great Britain team at the 2025 Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup is also a great honour and I think, this could represent the perfect platform to really kick on and enjoy the success that she has already had, while showcasing her talents on the international stage.
I’m looking forward to seeing how she is going to perform this season, which is still really only in its infancy and it could make interesting reading over the next few months.