Doyle makes history with French Oaks win
First female jockey to triumph in a major European Classic Nashwa delivers lift to Gosden stable after tough Royal Ascot
Hollie Doyle became the first female jockey to win a Classic in a major European racing nation when Nashwa, third in the Epsom Oaks, won the French equivalent, the Prix de Diane Longines, at Chantilly yesterday.
Riding the John and Thady Gosden-trained favourite for owner Imad Alsagar, Doyle made the most of her inside draw in stall two, got the perfect start and from then on was in the front rank, first or second, throughout.
Two furlongs out, Agave, one of her main market rivals, appeared to be travelling better but she soon began to fade. By that stage, Nashwa had kicked for home and stuck her neck out to beat off the persistent challenge of 50-1 runner-up La Parisienne by a short neck, with Rosacea third, 4½ lengths further back.
One of the first to congratulate Doyle was her husband Tom Marquand, who had finished down the field on his French-trained mount, Zellie.
Previously, only Julie Krone in the United States had ridden a major Classic winner in the northern hemisphere, when she partnered Colonial Affair to success in the 1993 Belmont Stakes. That was one of her 3,704 career winners.
Doyle, 25, has taken female Flat jockeys to new heights in Britain, having ridden two five-timers – at Windsor in August 2020 and Kempton in March last year – won the Champions Sprint on Glen Shiel and the Goodwood Cup on Trueshan. Last week, she rode her third Royal Ascot winner when Bradsell landed the Coventry Stakes.
Winning a French Classic on
French racing’s “ladies’ day” took it to an even more rarefied level, however. Feted by the crowd, she returned to shouts of “bravo” and was drenched in champagne.
“It feels pretty good,” she said. “If you’d said even three years ago I’d be winning a Classic for Mr Alsagar, I wouldn’t have believed you. I’m very lucky.
“I was feeling pretty vulnerable at the two pole, I thought there would have been more pace on. It wasn’t the plan to make the running but she relaxed one off the rail with company. It was more plan F but it worked in the end. She was very brave and dug deep when it mattered. From day one she had a lot of class and she’ll be better next year.”
It ended the week on a high note for the Gosden stable, whose only winner at Royal Ascot was Inspiral. Reflecting on how Doyle came to ride for Alsagar, John Gosden said the owner had come to him with a list of three jockeys he was considering retaining. The trainer had no hesitation in suggesting Doyle as the pick of them. “She’s highly talented, horses run for her, she’s meticulous [in her preparation], hard-working, and she’s shown her class on the filly,” he said. Of the winning ride, he said: “The draw makes a difference here. It was strange no one went on. We didn’t intend to be in front but Hollie did the right thing holding her position. I think Nashwa deserves a summer holiday and the most obvious race for her is the Prix de l’opera in October.”