British rider Hollie Doyle has quickly settled back into life in Hong Kong and is eyeing a LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship (IJC) victory on 10 December to repay the faith shown in her by the organisers of the annual extravaganza.

Her stint began with a bang as the Herefordshire native secured a sixth career win in the city in just the fourth race of her most recent sojourn to the jurisdiction. She has also notched three second-place finishes across her first two meetings, and admitted runner-up has become a familiar position for her in Hong Kong.

“I’ve been second (twice) and third (in the IJC), and I haven’t actually won it yet. So I’m really lucky that they keep giving me the opportunity to try again!

“It would mean a lot (to win the IJC) because The Hong Kong Jockey Club have been extremely good to me over the last few years, and it would be lovely to win it.”

Doyle, the most successful female jockey in British racing history, finished joint-second with the world’s top-ranked jockey, James McDonald, last year. She also shared second place in 2021, finishing level with Mickael Barzalona, McDonald again and her husband, Tom Marquand, on that occasion.

This year, her familiarity with the nuances of IJC night could help her to go one place better. She returns to Hong Kong for a sixth consecutive IJC tilt, well attuned to the intricacies of racing at Happy Valley.

“In England, we don’t do barrier trials, so a lot of the time we’ve never sat on (our rides), so that’s not really an issue. Obviously, we’re used to floodlit racing in England,” Doyle said. “But the tightness of the track is different, and I think the first time I came, I did have a shock to the system as to how tight the track rode. But the horses here are very different to horses back home. They’re trained on the track so they know their job.”

Doyle suffered a setback in her career earlier this year when she was replaced as retained rider for English Classic-winning owner and breeder Imad Al Sagar. But the peripatetic 29-year-old has maintained her tradition of searching out new opportunities and testing her mettle overseas during the winter break in British flat racing.

A four-appearance veteran of Ascot’s annual Shergar Cup, Doyle is no stranger to the jockey challenge format, but said the atmosphere around the city track makes the HK$1 million LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship a different proposition.

“I just think the setting, with the skyscrapers and the general surroundings, is very different to what we’re used to,” Doyle said.

“I enjoy (jockey challenges). There’s a huge atmosphere at Happy Valley on IJC night. It’s a big crowd always, and obviously there’s huge prize money,” she added, “and it’s great to be riding against some of the world’s best jockeys.”

In addition to McDonald (New Zealand) and last year’s winner Barzalona (France), Doyle will compete against fellow Great Britain representatives Ryan Moore (subject to fitness) and William Buick, Joao Moreira (Brazil), Christophe Lemaire (Japan), Umberto Rispoli (United States of America), Rachel King (Australia) and three of Hong Kong, China’s top jockeys, headed by Zac Purton.