Hollie Doyle aims to go one place better than last year when she competes again in the Longines International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley on Wednesday, an opportunity she still considers a “great honour”.
Doyle finished joint second with James McDonald 12 months ago, behind runaway winner Mickael Barzalona. All three are back, along with Ryan Moore, William Buick, Joao Moreira, Rachel King and Zac Purton, among others.
Doyle is currently based in Hong Kong on a temporary license and as she enters the final few weeks of her stint before returning home for Christmas, she hopes the trackcraft she has picked up will serve her well.
“I have rides for trainers that I haven’t ridden much for, which is good because hopefully if all goes well I can build some sort of relationship,” Doyle told the Press Association.
“A new system has been put in place, with a lot of work put into making sure the draw is fair and that everyone has a similar spread of rides. This year it seems to be a fairly level playing field, where we all have quite strong rides.
“I’ve got two last-timeout winners to ride. It’s quite difficult to win two on the bounce in Hong Kong because it’s so competitive, but the one I’m riding for Casper Fownes, Mr Desira, definitely looks like he’s improving.
“It’s crazy how competitive it is, there’s so little difference between many of the runners. For quite a few meetings the biggest winning margin was no more than a length. Your horse can run a great race and finish sixth and be beaten by a length.”
“I’ve been riding here for a while now and I think I’ve adapted quite well. It’s obviously very different to the dynamics of British racing, it’s quite sharp and punchy and because the handicaps are so tight there’s never really a dominant horse to target so the jockeys often make the difference.
“If you ran many of the races three times you would probably get a different winner each time, that’s how it is here.
“Just to be involved in this is amazing. I feel really lucky and privileged that the (Hong Kong) Jockey Club has asked me to do this a few times now, it’s a great honour.”
Moore, meanwhile, has only recently returned from injury, but the winner of the dual challenge is ready to go.
He said: “Everyone wants to ride here, and why wouldn’t you want to be part of it?
“I’ve been coming here since I was 18 and I love Hong Kong. The racing is high quality, it’s competitive and it’s very well run.”
“In that respect, it is the best this sport has to offer.”
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