Aswat started riding at the age of five at St James City Farm – a stable in inner-city Gloucester – before linking up with trainers Kim Bailey and Mat Nicholls.
She became hooked on the sport after riding a pony at Cheltenham.
Her win earlier this month was only her fourth professional ride after gaining her jockey license in the fall of 2025.
“The entire racing community has been very supportive and nothing has held me back,” Aswat said.
“Every time I went to Cheltenham I didn’t see people the same color as me, so in that sense it was disheartening.”
Bailey immediately saw Aswat’s ‘natural talent’.
“I take photos of horses training for my owners all the time and I’ve never had a photo where she was out of place – that’s quite unique,” Bailey told BBC Sport.
“It’s very, very difficult for that [conditional jockeys] to get started – 90% of jockeys are now sons of trainers or sons of owners who have put a lot of money into the business.
“I call an owner and say, ‘I have a very good young black girl who wants to ride. Do you want to let them ride your horse?’ Well, I mean, honestly, you’re paying the same for her as you are for her [reigning champion jockey] Sean Bowen or someone else. It’s a very difficult one.
“She has to be strong enough to handle all that and I’m pretty sure she’ll be able to handle the extra attention, including possible abuse on social media.
“She will always be a role model.”
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