UK-based James Doyle is one of the world’s elite jockeys - he has been a constant in the TRC Global Rankings top 30 for years. And his sister, Sophie, who rides in the U.S., has a pretty distinguished career too - she is the sixth highest-ranked female rider in the world in the TRC standings. She is currently ranked 217, which makes her the No. 1 woman jockey in North America, based on results in Graded races.
They may be riding on different continents, but don’t think for a second there’s any lack of affection between them. Far from it. They are avid followers of each other’s careers, and hugely proud of what the other has achieved, as Ken Snyder discovered when he spoke to them in the spring.
Eighteen months and the Atlantic Ocean separate jockeys Sophie Doyle, 34, and younger brother James, 33.
They are not the first sister-brother combination to ride in Thoroughbred races, but it would be hard to argue they are not the most successful. James, at Meydan in Dubai at the time of writing, has been a contract rider for Godolphin since 2014 and a winner of more than 20 G1 stakes races. Sophie, at Sam Houston Race Park in Texas when we spoke, had close to $1.8 million in purse earnings in the U.S. in 2020 and rode her first G1 winner in the Cotillion Stakes at Parx Racing in Philadelphia in September 2019.
That the pair ended up riding was, perhaps, almost a given as their mother, Jaqueline, was a successful Thoroughbred trainer of both jumpers and flat racers, including 2000 Winter Derby winner Zanay. Both recalled riding “literally before we could walk”, says James.
His first memory of a horse was one of his mother’s best jumpers, a horse called Mediator both he and Sophie rode. “He was a cracking good horse and an even better schoolmaster. He taught both of us to ride. He was easy and tested us for years before we got the knack of how to ride him.”
Among Sophie’s earliest memories are of her and James working horses together on a gallop. “We would always be together and see who could beat each other.”
The earliest races were on ponies and later, as they grew, their mother’s racehorses. “I don’t know if we were really breezing them,” she says. “I think the horses would take off and run their own races, and we would be just hanging on.”
Early ‘races’ between the two were one factor in Sophie diverting from an early interest in a career in show jumping and exercise riding. James, as well, was first keen on show jumping and, according to his sister, wasn't interested in a career as a jockey until around 10 or 11 years old. When he did develop that interest, however, serious ambition kicked in.
“I remember when he was just a kid he used to say, ‘I’m going to become a world-class jockey,’” says Sophie. “We used to laugh and say, ‘Oh, alright James. When it happens, we’ll remind you of that.’
As the racing world knows, it has, indeed, happened.
For Sophie, early pragmatism and her immediate environment were also factors in a decision to pursue a riding career at racetracks instead of equestrian events. “I said, ‘What’s the point of that [eventing] when we have a barn full of racehorses?’ And to become a show jumper you need to have a lot of sponsorship and a lot of very good horses to be able to make it.
“I loved show jumping, and I still show jump now with my own horse, but it’s very expensive. With a mother that trained racehorses, it was the easy option to stick to racing.”
Racing, specifically the flat racing that Sophie and James gravitated to, also diverted their mother in her career. “She trained very successfully over the jumps, winning races at multiple big events around the country,” James recalls. “She trained the odd flat horse, but due to the constant interest from myself and Sophie in the flat racing sphere, she turned her focus towards that direction.”
Dry spell
That included far more than early riding lessons and a barn full of horses. In James’s case, his mother succeeded in reviving a career that almost didn’t happen. Mother ‘Jacqui’ became his agent when his career hit a dry spell, according to Sophie. She approached her many contacts in racing to get his career going again. Riding for more and better trainers and, most important, winning, he attracted the attention of two of the world’s great racing empires - first Juddmonte Farms and later Godolphin.
Ironically, Jacqui saddled a horse with her daughter aboard in a race that included James riding that day for another trainer. The race was unforgettable for both brother and sister, particularly Sophie. “I was about to win my first-ever race. My brother actually came and nailed me on the wire.”
“It didn’t go down well in the household as you can imagine,” says James.
Partial redemption came 12 days later for Sophie when the mount she had been beaten on by her brother, Christmas Truce, hit the wire first for her first win.
The earlier race against one another was not the norm, and it was the only race where the two finished 1-2. “Even though we lived in the same house, we very rarely ran races together because we were always going in different directions,” says Sophie, a native of Lambourn in West Berkshire.
What became a permanent move across the Atlantic for her began after an initial foray to the U.S. that had consequences when she returned to England. Despite being the leading female apprentice rider in the UK with 28 wins in 2010, temporary absence from the British racing scene had consequences. “If you’re not around, you’re not in mind a little bit,” she says.
It necessitated a move back to the U.S., this time for good, in 2013.
“I was very worried at first, as any brother would be, with their sibling moving to a different country,” says James, “but I always felt Sophie had great attributes that would stand her well and be successful given the opportunities.
“She has an outstanding work ethic, second to none, and it can only help that she is liked by absolutely everybody.”
“He knew that I had the bug to travel,” says Sophie. “This was something he could probably never do, and he really respects my thoughts about being away from home. He appreciates what I’ve done and what I’ve achieved since being here.”
That may be understating it, particularly after Sophie’s Grade 1 win aboard Street Band in the Cotillion Stakes.
“I remember watching her first Grade 1 winner with some friends, and I felt an overwhelming sense of pride,” says James. “All her dreams came true that day. I bought her a bracelet with Street Band engraved along with the date of the race so she can remember it forever.”
A challenge for Sophie in America was adopting a different riding style. “American trainers are so used to the American style that when they do see a European style, it’s not as inviting to them to ride you. So, I’ve had to really work hard to keep that at bay,” she says.
Trainer John Ortiz was instrumental in ‘Americanizing’ Sophie for the racetrack. “When I came along, he took me under his wing and spent many mornings going over races and riding workouts together. He’d be yelling at me to get down low, get my shoulders higher and keep still - don’t move as much - because I have that European way of riding. He worked very hard on me to get more Americanized.”
Tactics ‘on point’
James offers her what we must consider a meaningful compliment, stating unequivocally she doesn't ‘ride like a girl’.
“Her riding has changed to the point I struggle to pick her out in a race. She has adapted to the American style with ease but also adds, along with it, the strength of the European style. She has developed a great clock in her head, and her tactics from what I see in the big races are on point.”
Sophie is equally proud of her brother. “He’s very stylish. He’s very confident,” she says, adding that he has the versatility to win on the lead, from off a stalking pace, or from dead last to win at the wire with a late closer.
Interestingly, she thinks watching her races in the U.S. has influenced James’s riding style in Europe, Dubai, and Australia. “Watching a little bit more of American racing and some of the jockeys that are as tall as him (5 ft 10ins), he’s been able to watch them and realize he can adapt his riding style and look very neat and tidy.”
Success in America draws the inevitable question: Would she ever return to the UK - racing, at times, against her brother? Opportunities in America for female jockeys are second only to Australia, she says, but notes that the emergence of Hollie Doyle (no relation) in Britain has seemed to encourage female riders in England and Ireland. For now, she is content to continue building on a burgeoning career in America.
Upward curve
“Of course, I would like her to come home, from a selfish point of view,” says James. But he adds, “She is far better career-wise in the States. She has made lots of contacts, and although it’s had its ups and downs, she is certainly on an upward curve.”
The two Doyles follow each other and their respective careers as closely as they can. Watching each other’s races live is difficult because of the time difference, but replays suffice. When it comes to a Grade 1 for Sophie, however, James will sacrifice sleep. “I would not miss a big ride in a Grade 1,” he says.
A high point for both was in 2015, when they became the first brother and sister to ride at a Breeders’ Cup, although in different races. Sophie made her second appearance in the 2019 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita aboard Street Band (who was unplaced in the Longines Distaff).
Given the upward trend in Sophie’s career and the proven success of James, the likelihood of racing against each other in the future in an international event is a distinct possibility. Maybe even, another 1-2 finish, this time maybe with a different winner.