Trailblazing Newmarket jockey Hayley Turner on 'clearing the path' for future female riders

  • ITV News Anglia's Andy Ward chats to pioneering jockey Hayley Turner about riding her 1,000th winner and her hopes for the next generation of female riders

Hayley Turner's glittering career has always been one of firsts.

The first female jockey to win a Group One race outright, the first female winner at Royal Ascot in more than 30 years, the first British woman to clock up 100 winners in a year - you name it, Turner has achieved it.

Now, the trailblazing rider has reached another milestone, becoming the first female jockey in Europe to ride 1,000 winners.

Turner's momentous moment came on board Tradesman, trained by David Simcock, under the lights at Chelmsford on 21 November.

Turner is the first female jockey in Europe to ride 1,000 winners. Credit: PA

The victory came after an anxious wait for Turner who had recorded her 999th winner more than two weeks earlier on Lunar Eclipse at Newmarket.

"It was almost a bit of a relief, to be honest, because I'd made such a big deal about it over the last few months and it just dragged out," she told ITV News Anglia.

"I'd had a few favourites that month and they'd all got beat. But actually I have to admit that with Tradesman, who I won on, I was quite confident going into the race, so it was just nice to get it done."

Turner was first taught to ride by her mother who was a riding instructor back home in Nottingham.

That ignited her love of the sport, and after moving to Newmarket to follow her dream, the rest is history.

Turner (left) hopes her achievements will inspire the likes of Saffie Osborne (centre) and Hollie Doyle (right) to follow in her footsteps. Credit: PA

What has followed is a groundbreaking career that has now seen the 40-year-old become a role model for the next generation of great female riders in Flat racing - including Hollie Doyle and Saffie Osborne.

"The female riders, in my opinion, have never been as good as they are now and they're just getting so much better," smiled Turner.

"I like to think that I've cleared the path. The likes of Holly Doyle and Saffie Osborne, they're clearing the path for the girls behind them as well, and I just think that female riders are going to come thick and fast."

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