Sophie Doyle Hopes to Carry Success to Arlington

It's been quite an adventure for jockey Sophie Doyle since she came to ride full time in the United States in 2013. This spring and summer, another chapter will be written in her story when she competes at Arlington International Racecourse for the 2018 meet.

Doyle, 31, has been surrounded by racing her whole life—no surprise, considering she grew up in Lambourn, England, also known as the "Valley of the Racehorse." From a young age, Sophie and her younger brother James (a group 1-winning rider overseas) were surrounded by horses and learned riding and horsemanship even before starting school. Much of this is thanks to their mother, former trainer and jump rider Jacqueline Doyle, who still lives in England but makes occasional trips to the U.S. to watch her daughter in action.

"She's been a big supporter. She's great," Sophie Doyle said of her mother. "She's supportive, but she's also one of my biggest critics. She watches every race that I ride in without fail. It doesn't matter what country she is in. She watches the races everywhere she goes. She'll message me and call me after the races. She's me and my brother's biggest supporter."

From the beginning, Jacqueline Doyle instilled in her children a great deal of knowledge when it comes to riding and racing.

"She taught us a lot," Sophie Doyle said. "She rode races herself as an amateur, and she actually never rode on the flats. She only rode on the fences, so she was even braver than my brother and I. When she was talking to us about races, we give her 100% because she's been there and done it all herself. She taught us everything we know."

One of the first horses Sophie Doyle recalls being around was Meditator, a steeplechase horse that was trained by her mother.

"Meditator was a big, 17-hand chestnut—(an) old national hunter jumper," Sophie Doyle recalled. "He was so kind, and my mom bought him as a 2-year-old. I used to go and get him from the field and play around with him. I was 18 months when I first got on him, with the help of my mother. He was actually the first racehorse that I galloped when I was 11."

Doyle's hard work and learning from a young age has paid off. In 2010, she became the leading female apprentice in England with 28 wins. Not long after, Doyle decided to move to the U.S. despite having no connections in American racing. Nevertheless, she established herself as a successful and self-made rider.  

"I find it hard to put into words what she has achieved," Jacqueline Doyle said. "We knew my son James, nor myself, or my parents, have no contacts in America. We couldn't open one single door, but she's done it entirely on her own."

So how does one go about making such an extreme transition?

"I think it's down to having thick skin in this game," Sophie Doyle said. "My brother said to me one day, 'Soph, I don't know how you do it. I could never do it.' It's tough whatever country you're in. Everywhere is tough and has its up times and its down times. You just have to be mentally tough. I remember having a jockey tell me one day, 'Sophie, this game isn't for the weak-minded.' You have to be able to think for yourself and care for yourself and have a strong mind.

"Everything happens for a reason, and I believe that there's a reason why I pushed to come to America. I enjoy meeting people from around the world because it's so different everywhere you go. So I think that just generally meeting new people everywhere that I have gone has just been a steppingstone to where I've ended up."

Jacqueline Doyle admits to being nervous when watching her children ride.

"There are some nervous moments," she said. "Obviously, they've been riding for a good while. I think with James, it's a different type of nervousness. It's more the nerves of whether or not things go wrong in a big race, or whether or not he gets on the right horse. It's different racing in Europe, so it's a whole different ballgame. I think racing in America is more dangerous. I've been there when she's had falls, and being so far away, if anything goes wrong, it takes you a day to get there. The last time she needed an operation, she said, 'Come when I'm ready to get back riding and you can drive me,' so I went to the States and spent three months driving. I came over in the middle of July. Thank God she's been grand since."

Sophie and Jacqueline Doyle will probably be missing each other a little extra May 13—Mother's Day. Although Jacqueline will not be at Arlington to watch her daughter ride, she is sure to be keeping herself up to speed on how her daughter performs. The good news for both is that England has its own Mother's Day, which was March 11.

"She's very lucky because she gets two Mother's Days," Doyle said. "I remember saying to her, 'You're lucky America has their own Mother's Day, so I can treat you when you're back home again.'"