A JOCKEY who started her career as a 16-year-old at David Evans' Pandy stables has become the most successful woman rider in UK racing history.

Herefordshire's Hollie Doyle rode 8/1 shot Brindavan to victory on the flat at Ascot to reach 1,023 winners, passing Hayley Turner's record having drawn level with it at Chelmsford two days earlier.

The 28-year-old, who reached 1,000 domestic winners in March, told Sky Sports Racing: "I've got to pinch myself to believe I've done this well, so long may it continue. It's a great milestone to have reached and I'll keep kicking."

And she paid tribute to Turner, who retired last month after announcing she was pregnant, by telling Racing Post: "I’m really grateful to all the females before me. Hayley had it a lot tougher than I did and she’s paved the way for people like me to go on and do this, and there’s plenty more female riders in the pipeline who will go on to do it.

"Things are looking good and I’m just grateful it was easier for me than it was for Hayley. I try to keep my head down and keep things moving forward the whole time. I’ve no room for slackening off the pace.

"You have to be really resilient in this sport and everyone has to work hard. You have no choice but to. I’m not an exception."

Her sparkling career saw her break the women’s record for winners in a single year in 2019 with 116 triumphs, and she was named Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year in 2020, as well as taking third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Award.

Doyle, who is married to fellow jockey Tom Marquand, sealed her first Royal Ascot victory on Scarlet Dragon in 2020 and claimed five victories in one meeting at Windsor.

In terms of career highlights, she said her first Classic win on Nashwa in the Prix de Diane French Oaks in 2022 was 'pretty amazing' - making her the first woman jockey to win a Classic.

Nashwa trainer John Gosden told Racing Post: "Holly’s the most fantastic person. She’s got a great character, she’s 100 per cent a hard worker and she’s a pleasure to be around.

"She’s obviously very competitive, but she does it with style and a smile. There’s no better role model.

"Her and Tom [Marquand] are beyond the ideal couple. They really are. They’re quite extraordinary and if you held them up as an example, other people would say they could never aspire to those heights. They’re fantastic."

Meanwhile, local trainer Evans has celebrated two winners over the last week, but was also fined £1,000 by a an independent British Horeseracing disciplinary panel, after 2024 Lingfield winner Lady Wingalong was found to have raced with a banned substance, namely an anti-depressant.

The Racing Post reported that the panel accepted there were ‘exceptional circumstances’ not to impose a ban or suspension, after hearing evidence on Thursday that an employee taking the medication had urinated in the stable, causing cross-contamination.

That allowed the trainer to later celebrate a £3,935 victory for Rumba Bay at Salisbury that afternoon, followed by a £3,780 win for Davvy at Redcar on Monday.