Doyle, Other Trailblazers in Saudi Jockey Competition
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Photo: Bill Denver/EQUI-PHOTO
Sophie Doyle speaks to her mother after guiding Street Band to victory in the Cotillion Stakes at Parx Racing
Leading female jockey Sophie Doyle will join Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith in the Feb. 28 Kingdom Day STC International Jockeys Challenge at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh, a day before some of the world's best horses compete in the $20 million Saudi Cup.
The challenge will feature seven male and seven female riders from across the world. The lineup also includes Japanese riders Yutaka Take and Nanako Fujita; Italian superstar Frankie Dettori; French jockey Mickaëlle Michel; three-time New Zealand champion Lisa Allpress; 11-time British Classic-winning rider Ryan Moore; four-time Breeders' Cup-winning Frenchman Olivier Peslier; reigning British all-weather champion apprentice Nicola Currie; Swiss-born, German-based pattern-winning rider Sibylle Vogt; Canadian Emma-Jayne Wilson; and two top Saudi Arabian-based jockeys, Adel Alfouraidi and a second local rider who will be determined following the results of this weekend's racing.
Saudi Arabia has been slow to grant rights to its female citizens partially due to strict interpretation and application of Sharia law. Only in June 2018 were Saudi women granted the opportunity to receive driver's licenses, and last year Saudi Arabia ultimately lifted a ban requiring Saudi women to travel with a male guardian.
"It's phenomenal to have female riders riding in Saudi," Doyle said in a telephone interview Feb. 13. "I think it's great, not just for us but obviously for their local women, who are really trying to help the change with their culture with women and how they're perceived in their country. It's great to be able to showcase female riders in a sport against men. So I think it's very helpful towards what they're trying to achieve in their country as well."
The International Jockeys Challenge is the first of its kind in Saudi Arabia and the main attraction of Kingdom Day. Each leg of the competition—held over four races of an eight-race card—carries a prize of $400,000, and the overall winning jockey stands to land a $30,000 award.
"We are delighted to welcome some of the best jockeys in the business to compete at the first STC International Jockeys Challenge," said Prince Bandar Bin Khalid Al Faisal, the chairman of the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia. "Racing is a sport that routinely sees male and female riders compete on a level playing field, and we are proud to continue this great tradition."
Jockeys take to the track during the Turf Trial at King Abdulaziz Racetrack
Riders will be assigned horses, prepared locally by Saudi-based trainers, via a draw process Feb. 25 and will accrue points on a 15-10-7-5-3 scale for top-five finishes. The winner is the rider with the most points after the competition's four races.
The International Jockeys Challenge reflects the values of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030, which lays out a program of targets for diversification and increased sporting participation among Saudi's young people, a release from the Jockey Club of Saudi Arabia stated.
Doyle said she will be away from America for about a week after riding at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on Mardi Gras Feb. 25. She said she might ride at Meydan in Dubai Feb. 27 and plans to vacation overseas with her brother James, a successful British jockey, after the jockey competition.
Sophie Doyle, 33, from Cambridge, England, began riding full time in the United States in 2014-15. She was among the top 10 riders at Arlington International Racecourse in Chicago in 2018 and 2019 and tied for 16th at Fair Grounds during the 2018-19 season. Through Feb. 12, she was 17th in the Fair Grounds standings with 9 winners from 90 mounts.
The regular rider of Street Band, Doyle won her first grade 1 last year aboard the filly in the Cotillion Stakes (G1) at Parx Racing for trainer Larry Jones. In 2019, her mounts made more than $2.5 million, her season high in the U.S.
On Wednesday, Doyle said she has some experience riding in the Middle East, going there for a period after beginning her career in Europe. She won a Thoroughbred race at the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse, the previous site of the Dubai World Cup before the construction of Meydan. She said she also won two-thirds of a Triple Crown series for Arabian horses.