The image of horse racing as a male-dominated sport is changing thanks to the exploits of top women in the saddle. It's no accident that these trailblazing ladies have been making headlines in recent years for all the right reasons.
We celebrate four female jockeys in Britain who are inspiring the next generation to make a career out riding. They have all claimed major accolades on the track, and these successes show that talent has nothing to do with gender.
Lizzie Kelly
There is a first time for everything, and it fell to Lizzie Kelly to be the first female jockey to win a Grade 1 National Hunt race in the UK. That came on Boxing Day 2015 with Tea For Two in the Kauto Star Novices' Chase on the same card at the King George at Kempton Park.
Kelly has also ridden in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the blue riband event of steeplechasing. Her family, including stepfather Nick Williams who trains horses, also have occasional runners in valuable and prestigious races across the Channel in France.
Hayley Turner
Speaking of trailblazers, as reported by Hayley Turner in a recent blog post, she reminded everybody that she became the first British woman to ride a Group/Grade 1 victory abroad. She partnered the David Simcock trained I'm A Dreamer to Beverly D Stakes success at Arlington Park on the outskirts of Chicago in the United States back in 2012.
Prior to that international triumph, Turner was British champion Flat apprentice back in 2005 and the first female jockey to ride 100 winners on the level in 2008. Group 1 victories in the July Cup at Newmarket and York's Nunthorpe Stakes in 2011 were also firsts for her, as no woman had won a top-level race outright.
Bryony Frost
© by Carine06
Popular with the public and media alike, Bryony Frost enjoyed a meteoric rise to stardom in jumps horse racing. Daughter of 1989 Grand National-winning rider Jimmy, it is her association with big British trainer Paul Nicholls that has put her on the map.
So talented is Frost, that she rode out her claim while still a conditional jockey in 2018-19 and became the first British woman to win a Grade 1 over obstacles at the Cheltenham Festival after steering Frodon to victory in the Ryanair Chase. She went on to be champion conditional that season and continues to have high-profile mounts for Nicholls.
Hollie Doyle
Scottish jockey Hollie Doyle is a record-breaker for British women on the Flat. In 2019, she surpassed Josephine Gordon's best haul of 106 winners in a calendar year, and this highlights how it's not just about big race successes for the ladies.
Quantity, as well as quality, play their part in the achievements they make on the track. Doyle is a key part of trainer Archie Watson's team and often takes the ride on horses he sends overseas, so her value to that stable is obvious.
