WOMEN jockeys are set for their most successful Royal Ascot ever with Rachael Blackmore and Hollie Doyle leading the charge.
Hayley Turner, Laura Pearson and Nicola Currie are among the others set to aim for the stars at the prestigious royal meet.
Horse racing is one of the few sports worldwide where men and women compete on equal terms.
But amazingly, female jockeys accounted for just ONE ride at Royal Ascot as recently as 2016.
That tally increased dramatically last year, where 27 rides at the June showpiece were taken by women jockeys.
Irish rider Blackmore, 31, has shot to superstardom in 2021 thanks to her heroics in the Grand National and at Cheltenham Festival.
The trailblazer became the first woman ever to win the Aintree showpiece in April.
That came the month after she was crowned leading jockey at Cheltenham – jump racing’s biggest and most lucrative meet – in another female first.
Blackmore, who normally rides over jumps, has been booked on Emmet Mullins’ 7-1 shot Cape Gentleman on Tuesday, the first day of the festival.
Doyle, 24, last year became just the third woman to ride a winner at Royal Ascot when leading Scarlet Dragon to victory in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes.
She followed in the footsteps of Gay Kelleway and Turner in triumphing during the star-studded event, and already has 20 rides booked for this year.
Turner, 38, became the first female jockey to win at Royal Ascot since 1987 when 33-1 Thanks Be took the Sandringham Stakes in 2019.
She backed it up a year later onboard Onassis in the same race, becoming the first multiple-winning woman rider ever at the festival.
Up and coming star Pearson is booked to ride Lola Showgirl in the Kensington Palace Stakes on Wednesday.
And Currie currently has a ride on Thursday and Friday, with Cachet a notable 7-1 chance in the Albany Stakes.
Doyle, who finished third in last year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, said Turner inspired her to success at Ascot and hopes there will be more to cheer this year.
She told Great British Racing: “It’s great to see that there have been a lot more women competing at Royal Ascot in recent years.
“We are just as good as men given the opportunity and I hope that other women continue to work hard and pursue their dreams of working in racing.
“Riding a winner at a festival like Royal Ascot is a dream come true.
“I was inspired by Hayley and hope now I can inspire young people too.”
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