Leading jockey Hollie Doyle made racing history on Sunday aboard Nashwa with victory in the Prix de Diane (French Oaks) at Chantilly.
The Gosden trained filly narrowly denied long shot La Parisienne in the finish over the extended ten-furlong trip.
The third-place finisher was nearly five lengths back and considering that the Frankel filly raced prominently due to her inside draw, she showed her class and great determination over the final furlong to win by a neck at the line.
Hollie is congratulated shortly after the winning post (British Champions Series)
In doing so Doyle became the first female jockey to win a Group 1 Classic in Europe. She has once again done her part to push racing to the front pages with this landmark success but ensured that the bay filly was the star of the show in her statements post-race.
“Nashwa is an absolute dream,” said Hollie. “She’s got a great mentality and is everything you want really. She’s probably the best I’ve ever sat on. As a team we’ve really thought a lot of her from day one.”
Nashwa had no problem backing up her third-place finish in the Oaks at Epsom just sixteen days ago dropping down in distance to win the French Oaks. Her trainer John Gosden suggested the Gr1 Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp on Arc weekend as possibly her end of season target.
Hollie Doyle added: “Physically there’s still a lot more to come and hopefully she can get bigger and stronger. She’s still quite unfurnished and we’ve always thought she was going to be better next year.”
Doyle, who rode 172 winners in Britain last year and was third in the 2020 BBC Sports Personality of the Year behind Lewis Hamilton, was delighted with her week’s work, having also notched her third success at Royal Ascot aboard Gr2 Coventry Stakes scorer Bradsell last Tuesday.
She said: “It’s really humbling to see how many people are behind me and are happy to see me have success like this.”
Fellow English rider Joanna Mason, who rode her 100th winner at Redcar on Saturday, celebrated Doyle’s Classic victory and thanked her for her work in recent seasons to promote female riders.
“It’s brilliant, she’s the first female jockey to win that race and fair play to Hollie, she’s a grafter,” said Mason. “She’s made the pathway for a lot of us girls. We’re very thankful to her. She’s breaking down the barriers of stereotypes of girls and boys.”
Last October Hollie Doyle had a British Champions Day to remember at Ascot, winning the Gr2 Long Distance Cup on Trueshan and then claiming her first Group One aboard Glen Shiel in the Champions Sprint Stakes.
Add Nashwa to her growing list of quality rides and Hollie looks destined for the stars.
