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| Sumita Pawar |
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Rachel King and Hollie Doyle could have been colleagues in the jockeys' rooms in Britain, but fate had other plans. Both are now among the elite Group One jockeys, but they have achieved their success on opposite sides of the world.
King made a bold move in 2014 by relocating to Australia, just as Doyle was starting her career. King struggled to make a name for herself in England, even riding over jumps for trainer Alan King, who ironically trained Trueshan, the horse that had a significant impact on Doyle's career. However, King found her footing in Sydney, where she became a champion apprentice and one of the top jockeys on the city's competitive circuit. She will be making her debut in the LONGINES International Jockeys' Championship.
“Last time I was here I went and watched some races at Happy Valley, I’d just ridden in an amateur ladies’ flat race in Macau,” King said with a laugh.” So, it’s been a bit of a journey to where I am now.
“I’m really looking forward to it, hopefully I’ll have a few decent rides in there as well. Zac (Purton) was giving me a few little pointers, there are plenty of good people to learn from. I’ll just try to get as much information as I can.”
Despite spending nearly a decade in Australia, King still recognizes the surreal feeling of competing under the Australian flag with her Aussie twang accent. She finds it amusing that she represents Australia while being English, while James McDonald, who is based in Australia, represents New Zealand. Nevertheless, she feels privileged to represent Australia and compete alongside the country's top jockeys.
Doyle, who is six years younger than King, has come close to winning the competition before, having dead-heated for second place in 2021. Meanwhile, King was unlucky in a similar event, the World All-Star Jockeys Series in Japan, where she lost to Mirai Iwata by a point. Despite this setback, King remains optimistic and believes that she can win the LONGINES International Jockeys' Championship. She led the whole way in the Japan competition until her horse broke down in the last race, so she hopes to do better this time.
King and Doyle share similarities, such as their height of just over 1.5m, but they are deceptively strong, disciplined, and tactically astute. They follow in the footsteps of Hayley Turner and Michelle Payne, who have paved the way for female jockeys in Britain and Australia. Both King and Doyle are regarded as top-class jockeys, and a victory for either of them as the first female rider in the history of the IJC would be a novelty for one year only, as it will surely be followed by many more.