Hollie Doyle | Horse Racing Free Tips

Quartet of Lesters Nominations for Hollie Doyle

Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year Hollie Doyle, who is also a nominee for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year, has been nominated for four Lesters Awards, leading all nominations. Seven Lesters are voted on by members of the Professional Jockeys Association, with the Flat Ride of the Year picked by Racing TV viewers and the Jump Ride of the Year selected by Sky Sports Racing Viewers. Polls have closed and all winners will be announced during a live show at 6 p.m. on Sky Sports Racing on Dec. 22.

Doyle, alongside partner Tom Marquand, champion jockey Oisin Murphy and William Buick are up for Flat Jockey of the Year. Her ride aboard Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) in the G1 British Champions Sprint S., her first Group 1 win, is a nominee for Flat Ride of the Year; while she is also up for Female Jockey of the Year alongside Nicola Currie, Bridget Andrews and Megan Nicholls. Finally, Doyal is also nominated for the Flat Jockey Special Recognition Award with Joe Fanning, Robert Havlin and Paul Hanagan.

Champion Jumps jockey Brian Hughes, Richard Johnson, Aidan Coleman and Harry Cobden are in the running for Jump Jockey of the Year. The Jump Jockey Special Recognition Award’s nominees are Leighton Aspell, Adam Nicol, Wayne Hutchinson and Andrew Tinkler.

Dale Gibson, PJA executive director (Racing), said, “Like other awards ceremonies, we were unable to host a Lesters Awards ceremony due to the pandemic so we were delighted when Sky Sports Racing agreed to produce another Lesters special, as they did in 2019.

“Having been lucky enough to win two Lesters myself I know how much it means so on behalf of the PJA and our members, I would like to congratulate all of the nominees and wish them the very best of luck.”

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Longines IJC Gets HKIR Week Rolling

The Longines International Jockeys’ Championship, set for Wednesday evening at iconic Happy Valley Racecourse, marks the true start of Hong Kong International Races week, as 12 of the world’s top jockey’s compete for the HK$500,000 winner’s share of the HK$800,000 on offer. Though the crowds won’t be there, owing to an uptick in the number of COVID cases over the last few weeks, six locally based riders will face a half-dozen of their peers that have jetted in from Europe, with a revised format in the distribution of mounts that should make for a more level playing field.

Three of the six jockeys that will fly the flag for Hong Kong are past winners of the IJC, including Joao Moreira, who was based in Singapore when he defeated now arch-rival Zac Purton to scoop the top prize in 2012. There is a home-field advantage, the ‘Magic Man’ believes, but he is taking nothing for granted.

“There’s no doubt it’s going to be a very interesting jockeys’ challenge,” Moreira said. “I have no doubt local jockeys have the advantage of riding every day on the city track, but don’t forget these jockeys are coming over here, they are high quality jockeys and they are able to adapt very quickly, understand and pick up from everybody, even watching replays. Luck is going to play a lot of luck in this game.”

Among Moreira’s best chances should come in the second leg of the competition aboard Royal Racer (Aus) (Dreamscape {Aus}), whose three career victories have come around the city circuit and who was ridden by Moreira to a course-and-distance success Nov. 25.

Karis Teetan won his first HKIR race in 2018 when steering Mr Stunning (Aus) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}) to victory in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Sprint, and he defeated Ryan Moore to win last year’s IJC. The Mauritian is looking forward to defending his title and says his victory put added wind in his sails.

“I would say winning the challenge helped me even in Hong Kong, more owners have seen me on the big stage and trainers have noticed, even now and it’s a big challenge and of course to win it was something really special,” said Teetan, currently third in the local jockeys’ premiership behind Moreira (49) and Purton (28) with 25 winners.

Also representing Hong Kong are Neil Callan, Vincent Ho and Alexis Badel.

Moore, who rides Mogul (GB) (Galileo {Ire}) in Sunday’s G1 Longines Hong Kong Vase and Magical (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G1 Longines Hong Kong Cup, looks to add to his 2010 IJC title and is joined by the in-form duo of Tom Marquand and Hollie Doyle. The latter has landed one of the plum rides in any of the four IJC legs, as she was selected at random to guide the David Hayes-trained Harmony N Blessed (Aus) (Magnus {Aus}) in the final race of the series. The 4-year-old led every step of the way to break his maiden at first asking as the $2.50 (3-2) favourite going 1200 metres at Sha Tin Nov. 22.

The remaining visiting riders include Mickael Barzalona, two-time Breeders’ Cup winner Pierre-Charles Boudot and William Buick.

The Wednesday program at Happy Valley commences at 6.30pm local time (10.30am BST, 5.30am US Eastern time) with the first of the IJC races set to jump at 8.10. Click for the HKJC form guide.

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Hollie Doyle Keen To Continue Spectacular 2020 In International Jockeys’ Championship

In her wildest dreams, Hollie Doyle could not have dared to hope for a more spectacular year after a season of staggering achievements, but the English rider hopes to crown a wondrous 2020 with more success in the LONGINES International Jockeys' Championship at Happy Valley in Hong Kong next Wednesday (Dec. 9).

Acclaimed as winner of The Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year award and shortlisted for the prestigious BBC sports personality of the year award, the 24-year-old has triumphed on an unprecedented scale in 2020.

Doyle bettered her own 2019 record for the most wins (116) amassed by a female rider during a calendar year in Great Britain and, as of Dec. 2, has posted 139 wins. Additionally, she also finished fourth in the 2020 British Flat Jockeys' Championship.

Noting the highest-ever placing by a woman, Frankie Dettori anointed Doyle as a future winner of the Championship after Doyle became the first woman to partner five winners on the same card at Windsor in August.

Doyle is part of a star-studded, six-jockey contingent from Europe to face the best of Hong Kong next week as she vies for the most lucrative jockeys' challenge winner's cheque in the world – a prize of HK$500,000 (about US$65,000).

Intriguingly, she will be pitted against her partner and fellow rising star Tom Marquand in an illustrious parade also containing Ryan Moore, a two-time winner of the LONGINES International Jockeys' Championship, William Buick and French duo Pierre-Charles Boudot and Mickael Barzalona.

“Tom and I are really looking forward to going to Hong Kong,” Doyle said. “It is a place we have always thought about going to and the opportunity has now arisen so we are excited about the prospect.

“It is a great opportunity to ride in Hong Kong at the end of a great year.

“This year has been crazy really for the both of us. It could not have gone much better. We are really grateful and pleased with the way it has gone. We are already looking forward to next year and it would be fantastic to have even more success.”

Doyle rates Champions Day at Ascot on Oct. 17 as “the best day of my career so far”, when she and Marquand combined to ride four of the six winners on the program, crowned by breakthrough G1 success aboard Glen Shiel in the QIPCO British Champions Sprint Stakes.

“To win my first G1 was very special on Glen Shiel,” she said. “It is special that it was also such a great day for Tom and I. You rarely both get success like that on a good day, but we were both absolutely delighted. It was quite simply a day I will never forget.

“Having five winners at Windsor was obviously another special day. To have a winner for my new retained owner Imad Al Sagar as part of the five-timer and plenty of rides for different trainers has been brilliant and it was another great day in what has been a fantastic season for me.

“I am just trying to keep everything rolling and I am just delighted with how things are going.”

Doyle, who sits alongside Formula 1 ace Lewis Hamilton, cricketer Stuart Broad and Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson on the BBC sports personality of the year shortlist, partially attributes her soaring success to her connection with trainer Archie Watson.

“I am in Archie Watson's (yard) quite often and I know the horses inside and out so I think that has been a big part in the success that we have had,” she said.

“I just hope next season to keep riding lots of winners and with that hopefully lots of quality will come too.

“The Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year award hasn't really sunk in yet but it was so special to win it. It was a huge honor to have won the award. Having seen some of the previous winners I feel quite honored, it was a huge privilege.”

Eager to make an impact in Hong Kong at the LONGINES International Jockeys' Championship, Doyle retains lofty – and patently attainable – objectives.

“I would love to win the Jockeys' Championship one day,” she said.

“I don't know whether that is going to be next year or in 10 years. I am constantly trying my hardest to achieve my best and it is obviously something I would love to do.

“Whether I land in that position or not is down to me having a bit of luck.”

Zac Purton, Joao Moreira, Karis Teetan, Vincent Ho, Alexis Badel and Neil Callan will represent the Hong Kong team at Happy Valley next Wednesday, Dec. 9.

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Hollie Doyle Nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award

Jockey Hollie Doyle, who won her first Group 1 race this season, was nominated for the 2020 BBC Sports Personality of the Year award. The winner is voted on by the public on Dec. 20. If she wins, Doyle would join Sir Anthony McCoy as the second winner from the sphere of racing. Doyle was named the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year in November. She broke her own record for most winners in a calendar year by a female jockey with 117 in October and was fourth in the Flat jockeys’ championship. The 24-year-old also rode five winners on the same card at Windsor in August and rode Glen Shiel (GB) (Pivotal {GB]) to win the G1 British Champions Sprint S. In addition, Doyle also celebrated a first win at Royal Ascot in 2020 with Scarlet Dragon (GB) (Sir Percy {GB}). Doyle scored with another three winners at Wolverhampton on Tuesday.

“It is a huge privilege to be nominated for such an illustrious award,” Doyle said. “It’s hard to get my head around being nominated alongside the likes of Lewis Hamilton, but I’m really pleased that horse racing has been recognised alongside these sports. Racing can be in its own little bubble as such, so hopefully this might help to open the door to a wider audience.”

The other five nominees are: Formula One’s Lewis Hamilton, cricket’s Stuart Broad, snooker’s Ronnie O’Sullivan, boxer Tyson Fury, and footballer Jordan Henderson.

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