3 minute read
Hollie Doyle will cap a season of personal landmarks and record-breaking feats with her first ride at the Breeders’ Cup.
Doyle is set to partner G3 winner Mighty Gurkha, trained by Archie Watson, in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint.
It will be her first ride in a race in the United States and her first ride outside Europe.
"Arrangements are being made for Hollie to go out to Keeneland," said Bruce Raymond, who manages Mighty Gurkha for owner Mohammed Rashid. "She knows the horse better than anyone and she has done nothing wrong on him."
Mighty Gurkha won the Sirenia Stakes in September having previously finished fifth of six when hot favourite for a G3 at Deauville.
"There was a bit of a cock-up in France when the blind didn't come off quickly enough," Raymond said. "He used to be a bit dodgy in the gate but he won't be at Keeneland where he will have two stall handlers holding him and the gates are a bit larger.
"We know he is quick but whether he is quick by American standards we don't know. We can only be hopeful."
Doyle, who claimed her first Royal Ascot win this season, rode her first G1 winner on Glen Shiel in the British Champions Sprint before breaking her own record for the most wins in a year by a female jockey in Britain. She has ridden 126 winners.
Former jockey Raymond said: "Hollie is a good jockey and probably the equal of Tom [Marquand], her boyfriend. She doesn't go anything wrong, she is in a good position all the time, she always gets them out of the gates smartly and I don't know why.
"She deserves everything. I don't think of her now as a lady jockey, I just think of her as a good jockey."