ENGLISH TEXTS win the Kentucky Derby with authority, delivering the second Group 1 at Churchill Downs.
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BY MÉLODIE JANVIER
A YEAR OF GIRL POWER!
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Hollim Doyle On 10 May 2025, aboard Brindavan, Hollie Doyle rode the 1,023 rd victory of her career and inscribed her name as the most successful female jockey in England, a record previously held by Hayley Turner. In 2020, with 150 winners, she received the Flat Jockey of the Year award at the Lesters Awards, becoming the first woman ever to earn this distinction. Hollie Doyle has continued to claim records and“ firsts”: winner of the British Champions Sprint Stakes with Glen Shiel in 2021, she became the first woman to win a Group 1 at Royal Ascot. That same year, she finished third in the BBC Sports Personality of the Year voting, behind none other than Lewis Hamilton. In 2022, partnered with Nashwa, she became the first woman to win a European Classic by landing the Prix de Diane Longines( Gr. 1).
Nina Baltromei Hamburg, 6 July 2025. Nina Baltromei makes history. Aboard Hochköning, the apprentice rider captured the 156 th Deutsches Derby( Gr. 1), becoming the first woman ever to have her name inscribed on the roll of honour of the German Classic.
An XXL achievement, signed by someone who had only just changed status a few weeks earlier. Crowned 2024 amateur champion thanks to her twenty victories, the daughter of the late Werner Baltromei continues the family legacy. Hochköning’ s trainer, Yasmine Almenräder, succeeded Werner Baltromei in 2014. A victory full of symbolism.
Rachael Blackmore On 12 May, a real thunderclap shook the National-Hunt world: Rachael Blackmore hung up her boots. At 35, the Irishwoman bowed out as a true living legend. The first woman to win the mythical Grand National( Gr. 1) at Liverpool in 2021 with Minella Times, she also earned that year the BBC’ s World Sport Star of the Year award, succeeding icons such as Roger Federer and Usain Bolt. At the 2021 Cheltenham Festival, with six victories, she became the first woman to be crowned leading jockey of the meeting. In 2022, she captured the Gold Cup( Gr. 1) with A Plus Tard, yet another first for a female jockey, having already landed the Champion Hurdle( Gr. 1) with Honeysuckle. Originally from Killenaule, Rachael Blackmore recorded her first win in 2011 at Thurles aboard Stowaway Pearl, as an amateur rider. Fourteen years later, on 12 May 2025, she took her final bow with 575 victories to her name. In recent weeks, the one nicknamed the“ Queen of Cheltenham” has taken up her new role at Prestbury Park: ambassador, encouraging more women to visit the iconic racecourse.
Jamie Melham In front of more than 80,000 spectators, Jamie Melham sent Flemington into raptures: aboard Half Yours, the Australian jockey succeeded Michelle Payne and became the second woman ever to win the Melbourne Cup( Gr. 1). A monumental triumph, occurring just 17 days after their victory in the Caulfield Cup( Gr. 1). A historic double only achieved 13 times in the past … but never before by a female jockey. Her brilliance is no isolated feat. Jamie Melham had already made headlines in 2020 – 2021, becoming the first jockey in history- male or female- to reach 100 wins in a single Melbourne season.
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BY CÉLINE GUALDE
FRANÇOIS NICOLLE, AT LAST!
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It took him forty-five years. Forty-five years of a career before winning the Grand Steeplechase de Paris, the only Group 1 missing from his record. François Nicolle, 66, was attempting his luck in the mythical race for the tenth time. But fate, mischievous as ever, had so far worked very hard to foil him. A few examples: in 2018, Bipolaire set off as the favourite. He fell at the first jump of the course. In May 2020, Figuero seemed to have no opposition. But Covid stepped in and the Grand Steeple was postponed to October. The Détré family’ s crack then ran into a stumbling block: Docteur de Ballon. In short, François Nicolle, who, like all trainers, is a little su-
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