Hollie Doyle admits the decision was difficult but after riding the past three winters on short-term licences in Japan she will head to Hong Kong this November to begin a seven-week stint on the “cutthroat” two-track circuit.
“I love Japan, I’ve done the last three winters there and it was great so it was a hard decision for me, but Hong Kong has been good to me the last few years, inviting me over, so I wanted to give it a go,” Doyle told Idol Horse between races at low-key Catterick.
“I still qualify for Japan so it really was a hard decision, which to apply for, but I had such a great time in Japan two years ago and last year was just ok (on the track). I want to experience as many jurisdictions as possible and Hong Kong is one of the best.”
Doyle is one of four high-profile riders the Hong Kong Jockey Club has announced on short-term winter licences, along with James McDonald, Maxime Guyon and Dylan Browne McMonagle.
She had two wins during her first stint in the Japan Racing Association (JRA) in 2022, improved to 12 wins in 2023, and then from November 2024 through January 2025 in Japan she eked out six wins. Each of those licences was timed in tandem with her husband Tom Marquand also riding the JRA circuit for returns of 17, 20 and 21 wins.
Doyle’s decision to ride in Hong Kong from November 5 to December 23 means a temporary parting for the couple before they return to the marital home from their respective overseas contracts in the new year.
“Tom and I were going there to Japan at the same time and I just thought and felt we should be going separate places this time rather than going to try and steal the same rides at the same time,” she said.
The multiple Group 1 winner – Europe’s top female jockey – already has some familiarity with Hong Kong where she has ridden at the annual International Jockeys Championship (IJC) at Happy Valley since 2020. She has the distinction of being the first woman to ride a winner at the IJC.
Doyle also answered an SOS from the Jockey Club in February this year when the Hong Kong roster was suddenly depleted following two serious race falls. She rode at two meetings – at Sha Tin and Happy Valley – and bagged a win at Sha Tin aboard the Jimmy Ting-trained Billionaire Secret, which took her Hong Kong total to four wins from 24 rides.
“I’ve been a bit lucky when I have ridden there but I’ve only ridden for the odd day or two at a time, I’ve never actually experienced the system properly so I want to go out there and learn how that all works,” Doyle said before referencing the notoriously tough nature of that system.
“It’s quite cutthroat from a jockey’s point of view: you book your own rides – I won’t have to – so the lads out there will have their rides booked up three weeks in advance and I’ll be stepping in and hoping I can get on something.”
Doyle, 28, will have the benefit of a Jockey Club liaison to help her book rides because it will be her first licence stretching over several weeks rather than just a meeting or two.
“But I can ride light,” she added, “and hopefully from being out there before, the trainers and owners will know me. We’ll find out when I get out there and I’ll need plenty of luck if I’m to do well. I’ll only have a short period of time so I’m keen to make the most of it.”
Doyle was in the sport’s headlines last month when Imad Al Sagar unexpectedly ended her retainer. She had ridden the owner’s Nashwa in all 17 of her races for Group 1 wins in the Falmouth Stakes and Nassau Stakes before the mare’s retirement at the end of last year.
The retirement also of Bradsell last term, another of her Group 1-winning mounts, has resulted in Doyle going without a top-level horse in Britain this year, but she has still shown her talents on the bigger stages, notably when winning the HKJC World Pool-sponsored G2 Lennox Stakes at Goodwood in July on Witness Stand.
“Numbers wise, I’m on (84) winners, so it’s not bad numbers it just lacks that good horse, the Bradsell or the Nashwa that I had before,” Doyle said. “That good horse makes a huge difference: if you’re going to the festivals without those types of good horses to ride it’s hard. It’s swings and roundabouts, though.
“It is really frustrating but you just have to keep doing what you’re doing and get on with it. It’s the way it goes for trainers, owners and jockeys; I’ve been lucky the last few years to have such great horses and it was inevitable they would come to an end at some point, you’ve just got to find the next one.”
She hopes Hong Kong will provide her such an opportunity and that she will give the fans there something to cheer.
“The fans are a huge part of Hong Kong racing and huge supporters, it’s massive out there,” she added. “They seem to like me but maybe they like everyone, I don’t know.” ∎
