The 25-year-old jockey on proving herself as a leading jockey, bouncing back from injury and her dream of winning the Derby
“It’s a strange old sport,” Hollie Doyle says as she heads into the final day of another Flat racing season which has seen her continue her rise as one of the most gifted and tactically astute jockeys in Britain. “You’re constantly trying to prove yourself and keep up the numbers [of winners] all the time. I feel that people are quick to jump to conclusions so if you have a quiet week they start saying: ‘Oh, you’re not doing as well as you were.’ I just think: ‘Well, I’m not doing anything different.’ It’s quite a tough business.”
A year ago, at the last meeting of the season on Champions Day at Ascot, Doyle had a notable breakthrough when she rode two winners, including her first Group One victory, and two second-placed horses. Her boyfriend, Tom Marquand, matched her with two winners which meant that between them they clinched four of the six races on a memorable afternoon. Doyle was then nominated for the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year last December and she finished third behind Jordan Henderson and Lewis Hamilton.
