Hollie Doyle begins her eight-week riding stint in Hong Kong with seven rides booked at Happy Valley on Wednesday.
After spending the past winters riding in Japan, the record-breaking rider landed in Hong Kong on Sunday and is excited to take on a new challenge.
“I am looking forward to this opportunity, it is obviously a great honor to have been asked by the Hong Kong Jockey Club,” she said.
“The hardest thing will be getting on the right stages. We’ve seen how difficult it has been for David (Probert) and Richard (Kingscote), so I realize how difficult it will be.
“I’ve been to Hong Kong a few times now and have been lucky enough to walk away with a few winners over the years so I hope that counts (for something) but I’m not taking anything for granted. Fingers crossed I get a bit of luck.”
“I’m really looking forward to not traveling for a few weeks! Obviously it’s brutal in England, but because we’re based in Sha Tin and Happy Valley, there will be hardly any travel.
“I’m looking forward to getting to know the new system and honing my driving style. You can never stop learning, so I’m always open to new things.”
The Happy Valley card will be shown live on Sky Sports Racing, with Doyle’s first horse being the Frankie Lor-trained Ever Smart in the Niigata Handicap, which will start at 11.10am UK time.
Her other horses are Roman Crown (11.40am) – a son of Mehmas previously trained by Eve Johnson Houghton in Great Britain – and Run Run Smart (12.40pm), a horse Doyle will be familiar with for steering him to victory in Chester last year when trained by Adrian Keatley.
Doyle’s Happy Valley record stands at four winners and five placings from 40 rides, earning HK$1,173,825.
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