Aamilah Aswat made history when she became the first black female jockey to win a race over jumps in Britain on Monday when she struck aboard Guchen at Kempton Park.
Guchen, trained by Kim Bailey and Mat Nicholls, was a 9-1 shot in the Best Odds Guaranteed Overnight At CopyBet Handicap Hurdle and was only the fourth career ride for 20-year-old Aswat, who had her first public appearance on the same horse when fifth at the Sunbury venue in November.
Guchen is owned by Friends Of Ebony Horse Club, the inner city Brixton riding school, and Aswat initially learned to ride at a similar organization in Gloucester, where the £10 claimant lived with her British parents of Indian and Jamaican descent.
She said after her historic triumph: “He made me feel great all the time and always felt like he still had plenty left.
“It just feels great to get a winner and so quickly too. I am very grateful to all the connections – the owners and the two trainers – Guchen jumped very well and I was so happy with him.
“It was hard but I stuck with it and it has been so worth it. Hopefully there will be many more winners.
“From a young age I was more attracted to show jumping racing and Cheltenham. My dream is to ride as many winners as possible and just keep doing it. Riding against professional jockeys really helps to build my confidence and you can ask them for advice – they are all very nice and I am very grateful.”
“The message I’m hopefully giving to other people is that if you want to do it, you definitely can and I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
She added: “If it wasn’t for the Ebony Horse Club, I wouldn’t have progressed in my racing career to this point. I’m very grateful to them.”
Sponsored by The Jockey Club, Aswat completed the Riding A Dream Academy’s inaugural scholarship program in 2021-2022 before competing in pony racing. Just over three years ago she joined Gloucestershire-based joint trainers Bailey and Nicholls.
Naomi Lawson, co-founder of Riding A Dream Academy, said: “We are so incredibly proud of Aamilah. She has always been a standout talent and we are so happy that all her hard work has paid off.
“For her to make history today and become the first Riding A Dream Academy student to win a race is incredible and we are extremely grateful to everyone who has supported her on her journey.”
#Historic #success #Aamilah #Aswat #Kempton #Park #Races