Our questions are answered by expat jockey who has become one of the leading riders in Australia – with five G1s to her name
Rachel King has become one of Britain’s best racing exports – through all her own hard work. When the 34-year-old was unable to establish herself in her native country, where she rode six winners on the Flat and three over jumps, she packed up and left.
Since arriving in Australia, her career has flourished. King won Sydney’s apprentice championship in 2016-17 and has now ridden more than 600 winners in her adopted home, including five at G1 level.
She has got noticed internationally, riding a winner at the International Jockeys Challenge in Hong Kong last December and then 16 winners on a temporary licence in Japan at the start of the year.
In June, shortly after getting married, she rode at Royal Ascot for the first time and registered her first victory at the track when competing at the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup as captain of the Rest of the World team in August, when she was on the scoresheet for her former boss Alan King.
Which racing figure past or present do you most admire?
Growing up I was always a big fan of Frankie Dettori and my childhood was spent watching him excel in the royal blue colours of Godolphin.
There are a lot in Australia, where Darren Beadman has been a big part of my career. He was a very good jockey and now has a role with the Godolphin team. He has been a huge help to me, especially through my apprenticeship when I started to ride a lot for Godolphin. He has an incredible wealth of knowledge which you can always tap into.
Which is your favourite venue, and race, anywhere in the world?
I do love Royal Randwick in Sydney. It’s a beautiful track, big and fair, with a long straight. Most of the starts are even and you have plenty of time to get into a nice rhythm. I had my first City winner there and my first G1 winner there.
It's tough to choose between there and Flemington as I had a very good day in Melbourne last year winning the Coolmore Stud Stakes on Ozzmosis. That was a career highlight so I have to say that is my favourite race after winning it. Trainer Bjorn Baker is a huge supporter of mine and to get a G1 win like that on a stallion as well was a big moment for me.
Who is your favourite racehorse and why?
My favourite racehorse from England was Frankel. I loved watching the way he galloped. He had an amazing team behind him. I was lucky enough to get to see him race a few times. I remember going to Goodwood with Mum and Dad and watching him win the Sussex Stakes. We stood by the parade ring to make sure we could get close to him. It was pretty cool.
What is your fondest memory in racing?
Winning the Tancred Stakes in 2023 on Arapaho was a big one for me. It was my first G1 for Bjorn and his team. My husband, Luke Hilton, is his racing manager and he was there too. The owners, Carl and Lorraine Holt who were involved with some others, are close friends of ours. It was a really special day. He was a little bit of an underdog horse but he went out there and showed everyone how tough he was.
If you could change one thing in racing, what would it be?
That’s a tricky one because my move has been very successful. Australia does a lot of things right and it’s hard to find too much that it does wrong.
If things had been different in Britain I may have stayed. The sport has changed a lot at home since I left but Europe in general is still probably a little bit behind Australia in terms of inclusivity. It’s getting better definitely and that’s shown in the 50-50 split of males and females at the Shergar Cup. But it probably was something that did push me away 11 years ago.
Rachel King was speaking to Jon Lees
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