2020 was a huge year for jockey Hollie Doyle as, not only did she firmly establish herself as one of the best riders, she was also a great flagbearer for women’s sport. The 24-year-old continues to progress in horse racing, with many leading pundits tipping her to become Champion Jockey in the future.
It’s been an incredible rise through the ranks for Doyle who has worked hard on her health and fitness to get to where she is. She had her first ride under rules as an amateur in 2013 at Sedgefield and, eight years later, she is now on board some of the best Flat horses in the world in Group One races. In 2019 Doyle broke the record for the number of Flat races won by a female jockey in a season when she ended the campaign with 116 wins. As if that wasn't impressive enough, 12 months later she topped her own record when State Occasion prevailed at Kempton.
This was a great reward for the sacrifices she, like many other jockeys, make when it comes to following a strict diet of healthy eating to remain at the required weight for her rides. Doyle and her competitors will no doubt be working towards being in top fitness for the new Flat Jockeys Championship which begins in June and runs through to October in 2020. Before then she will be concentrating on the action on the all-weather.
As of 3rd of February, the 24-year-old has ridden 44 winners in this season’s All-Weather Championship, bettered only by Richard Kingscote with 51 successes. Doyle is also likely to have an eye on the British Classics in 2021. The 2000 Guineas and 1000 Guineas take place in early May at Newmarket. Epsom then takes center stage for the Oaks and Derby, while later in the campaign, the oldest Classic on the British calendar, the St Leger is hosted at Doncaster. No female jockey has ever won a British Classic, but that record has a good chance of being broken soon with Doyle riding so well.
As a result of her incredible season in the saddle, Doyle was on the BBC Sports Personality of the Year shortlist in 2020, finishing third behind Lewis Hamilton and Jordan Henderson respectively. It was the first time a jockey had been in the first three since Tony McCoy finished third in 2013. Ending the ceremony on top of the podium was a fantastic achievement for the young jockey. She finished ahead of the likes of Stuart Broad, Ronnie O'Sullivan, and Tyson Fury, three huge names in the world of sport.
Doyle also became just the second sportswoman to finish in the top three in the last five years. This could be why Doyle is +6600 in the betting with Betway for the 2021 Sports Personality of the Year award. McCoy was the last jockey to win the trophy in 2011, the year he finally won the Grand National on board Don’t Push It. It seems that the 2020 Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year has really enhanced her profile over the last 12 months. But separate from this accolade, she was also named the Flat Jockey of the Year at the Lester Awards in horse racing, and more prizes are sure to follow as her career progresses.
Although there were many standout moments across the year for Doyle in 2020, a card at Windsor probably stands out the most as she rode five winners, the first female jockey to do so. Her quintuple win paid out at odds of +8990. The young jockey was full of confidence on the card at Windsor and Mistress Nellie brought up the five-fold when she scored by a neck following an excellent ride from her jockey. Those five winners helped Doyle finish fourth in the Jockeys Championship at the end of the season.
Another day that stood out in 2020 for Doyle was British Champions Day. This is when she became the first female jockey to ride a winner at the prestigious meeting when Trueshan prevailed in the Long Distance Cup. Doyle also scored in the Group One Champions Sprint onboard Glen Shiel. Another milestone was her debut in the Breeders’ Cup meeting in the United States last November, which is generally considered to be the World Championship event in the sport in North America. Although she was unsuccessful at Keeneland, the experience of competing against some of the best jockeys in the world will have been invaluable.
The success Doyle has had in horse racing is likely to inspire a whole generation of female jockeys in the sport. The 24-year-old has proved there is nothing stopping female riders from having just as much success as their male counterparts.
