It has been another starring year for Hollie Doyle and the jockey is hoping to claim an elusive victory on her return to Happy Valley for the 2024 LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) on 4 December.
Doyle has enjoyed another stellar domestic flat season in Britain, with two Group 1 wins aboard star sprinter Bradsell rating the highlight in a campaign which saw her breach a century of winners for the sixth consecutive year.
She will return to Hong Kong in search of her first IJC success having performed admirably on her first two appearances. A win aboard Harmony N Blessed in 2020 saw her become the first female jockey to win a race in the challenge and secure joint-third place, while Viva Hunter's win a year later helped her go one place better in joint-second.
"It's great to be invited back to the IJC for a fifth year," she said. "The last few times I've been a part of the event I've always hoped to come back for the next year and the HKJC have been great to me. It's an honour to go and represent Great Britain, be a part of it all and compete against some of the world's best jockeys."
This year's IJC will mark another stop on Doyle's audacious world tour. She is currently enjoying her latest stint in Japan with husband Tom Marquand, having already taken part in the Breeders' Cup in America and Melbourne Cup in Australia.
The rider will stand alongside two titans of the sport in Ryan Moore and William Buick to represent Great Britain in this year's event, in which she is hoping her varied international experience can once again reap rewards.
"I'm currently in Japan until December," she said. "It's a place Tom and I love to come to and I'm really lucky to be able to travel while riding. I've ridden all over the world now and I try to go everywhere I can given the opportunity, as you want to be high on people's lists to use in the big races. Competing around the world is what I want to do. I love the international experience and the more you can get the better.
"Obviously the rides you are allotted in the IJC are important, but so is the draw. A wide barrier can be pretty detrimental as Happy Valley is such a tight track. The races are ultra-competitive but, luckily, I've had a few opportunities and a few winners around there so I've got to know the track quite well. Having that experience under my belt really helps."
Doyle will eagerly await the IJC horse allocation on 2 December, while she is also hoping to be in action outside of the four-race competition before she flies back to Japan, where she will be based until 22 December.
She added: "I'm hoping to pick up some spare rides on the Happy Valley undercard. Spares don't often come about but I'm lucky in that I can do a very light weight. We'll have to see how it plays out."
While she will not be in action at the LONGINES Hong Kong International Races on 8 December, Marquand is expected to be in town to partner Dubai Honour in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Vase (2400m) after finishing fourth in the G1 LONGINES Hong Kong Cup (2000m) in 2021, and third and seventh in the G1 FWD QEII Cup (2000m) in 2023 and 2024 respectively.
