Kelleway hails Turner success as 'a really important moment for the sport'

Gay Kelleway has described Hayley Turner's historic Royal Ascot success aboard Thanks Be in the Sandringham Stakes as a "really important moment for the sport."

Kelleway became the first female jockey to strike at Royal Ascot aboard Sprowston Boy in the Queen Alexandra Stakes in 1987 and watched on from Goodwood as Turner joined her in the history books.

Kelleway, who now trains in Newmarket, said: "It was great to see from afar and it's a relief! Hayley deserves it as she works very hard – I fancied Thanks Be and had a few quid on.

"Hayley has always said to me she's going to ride a Royal Ascot winner and now she's done it. We've always had a bit of banter about it and it's great for her.

"This is a really important moment for the sport and it just shows if the horse is good enough, the girls are good enough. It's all about getting opportunities and the four girls that rode in the race all had good positions.

"The girls are riding well and it proves they should be picking up chances, particularly on the low weights, as it's a big advantage to be able to ride the bottom weights."

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Victoria Pendleton cheered Turner back into the winner's enclosure and feels there is gradual improvement for equality across all sports.

Pendleton, who still rides out when time allows, said: "It's brilliant for the sport and I'm a massive fan of Hayley's. It's great to see so many women involved on the card. It's the way forward and we're going to see more and more women competing at the highest level.

"Opportunities for female jockeys are not going to come overnight but it’s a gradual movement in the right direction across all sports.

"We have to be patient about it but there's improvement from ten years ago and two years ago, so it's going the right way."

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