Jockey Q&A: 'It was a huge task carrying so much weight - it's a day I won't forget'

Over the next few weeks we will bring you a series of app-exclusive Q&As with pro punters, trainers and jockeys which will offer unrivalled insight to our sport. This series continues this week with jockeys. Today: Hollie Doyle

Who's the best horse you've ever ridden?

Nashwa for Imad Alsagar. She has every attribute you would want in a racehorse and her temperament has always been her biggest asset. She showed a great attitude to give me my first Classic win when narrowly taking the Prix de Diane at Chantilly and she followed it up by landing the Group 1 Nassau Stakes in July.

Who's your favourite horse of all time?

It is too difficult to narrow it down to one, but the obvious ones are Nashwa, Glen Shiel, who gave me my first Group 1, and Trueshan. They've been pivotal horses in my career and I feel very fortunate to have come across them all.

Which horse was your most difficult ride?

Scarlet Dragon. We won the Old Rowley Cup, my first big handicap, in 2016 and four years later we won the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes at Royal Ascot. I never knew what I was going to get with him. One day he'd be a lamb and settle weirdly well, but the next he'd take me on and give me a hard time. He was a real character.

Which winner has given you the most satisfaction?

It would probably have to be my first Group 1 win with Glen Shiel in the 2020 British Champions Sprint at Ascot. Initially we didn't know we had won after a tight finish with Brando, so it was quite tense. It was fitting that my first top-level success came for my biggest supporter Archie Watson and Hambleton Racing on a horse everybody had a soft spot for.

Trueshan (far side) defies a BHA mark of 120 to win the Northumberland Plate off 10st 8lbCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

If you could ride one race again, what would it be?

I’d just want to relive Trueshan's gutsy success in the Northumberland Plate – I got a great buzz out of that! He was the best horse in the race but it was a huge task for him carrying so much weight and it's a day I won't forget.

What's the hardest course to ride?

Goodwood. It is quite a tactical track with so many different dynamics to it. You need a certain type of horse to handle it and be successful there.

Which horse are you most looking forward to riding next year?

I'm most looking forward to Nashwa. She won two Group 1s this season, came so close to a third in the Prix de l’Opera, and I think she'll be even better as a four-year-old. She's always developing physically.

Can you give us another horse to follow?

Bradsell won the Coventry Stakes but picked up an injury when fourth in the Phoenix Stakes and was ruled out for the rest of the season. Hopefully he makes a full recovery and it will be interesting to see how he fares as a three-year-old.

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