Sophie Doyle
| Sophie Doyle | |
|---|---|
| Occupation | Jockey |
| Born | 1986 Cambridge, England |
| Major racing wins | |
| Cotillion Stakes (2019) | |
| Significant horses | |
| Fioretti Street Band | |
Sophie Doyle (born 1986) is a Grade 1 race winning British jockey who is based in the United States and competes in flat racing.
Background
[edit]Doyle is the daughter of trainer Jacqueline Doyle, who trained 2000 Winter Derby winner Zanay and had also been an amateur jump jockey, and older sister of jockey James Doyle.[1][2] She was born in Cambridge and moved to Lambourn in Berkshire when she was six years old.[3] She learnt to ride as a very young child and at one time was interested in becoming a show jumper, before deciding on a career in horse racing.[1]
Racing career
[edit]Doyle's first race was as an apprentice jockey in a race at Lingfield on 20 February 2006. Riding 66/1 outsider Christmas Truce, trained by her mother, she was narrowly beaten into second place by her brother on the 2/1 favourite Samson Quest. Six weeks later, at the same course, Christmas Truce provided her with the first win of her career.[1][4] In 2010, Doyle was the leading female apprentice with 28 wins.[1] Having spent two winters exercising horses in the US, she decided to move there permanently in 2013 in search of better opportunities as a jockey.[5]
Doyle secured her first Grade win in October 2015, when Fioretti won the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes at Keeneland, Kentucky.[6] The victory gave them an entry into the 2015 Breeders' Cup, where they were unplaced in the Filly & Mare Sprint.[7] James Doyle was also riding at the meeting, making them the first brother and sister to ride at a Breeders' Cup.[1]
In August 2018, Doyle landed her 200th winner in the US.[6] The following season she won the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks, the Grade 3 Indiana Oaks, and the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes on Street Band, trained by J. Larry Jones.[8] Doyle then made her second appearance at the Breeders' Cup, where Street Band ran unplaced in the 2019 Breeders' Cup Distaff.[1] In 2024, Doyle returned to race riding following a two-year break after the birth of her daughter.[9]
Personal life
[edit]Doyle and her partner, trainer Chris Davis, have a daughter, Emilie, born in 2022.[9]
Major wins
[edit]
- Cotillion Stakes - (1) - Street Band (2019)
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f "Sibling pride: How Sophie and James Doyle are each other's biggest fans". Thoroughbred Racing Commentary. 10 June 2021.
- ^ "Arlington stint another chapter in the Sophie Doyle adventure story". Thoroughbred Racing Commentary. 20 May 2018.
- ^ "Making Their Mark: Sophie Doyle". Thoroughbred Daily News. 29 January 2020.
- ^ "Christmas Truce". Racing Post. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
- ^ "Five Leading Ladies in the World of Horse Racing". Horses in the South. 30 April 2020.
- ^ a b "American dream: winners keep coming for expat jockey Sophie Doyle". Racing Post. 7 August 2018.
- ^ "Turfway's 30th Holiday Inaugural Stakes on Saturday hails return of Fioretti". North Kentucky Tribune. 4 December 2015.
- ^ "Sophie Doyle". Racing Post. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
- ^ a b "Sophie Doyle Back in the Saddle". Thoroughbred Daily News. 23 May 2024.