The teenager only found out he was riding in the feature race at Doncaster five days earlier...
THE traditional curtain-raiser to the summer Flat season, the £100,000 Unibet Lincoln at Doncaster, was won by a teenage jockey riding in his first race on the turf.
The 18-year-old apprentice, Benoit de la Sayette, produced a masterful performance aboard the John and Thady Gosden-trained Haqeeqy to produce a “fairytale” finish and launch what looks set to be a stellar career as a jockey.
Read this story, plus Amy Mathieson’s report from the Dubai World Cup and Marcus Armytage’s analysis of the action from Newbury, in this Thursday’s issue of the magazine (1 April, 2021)
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Credit: Imago/PA Images
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Mark Walsh and Inothewayurthinkin clear the last fence on the way to winning the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival.
Credit: Getty Images
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Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her role as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her around the world reporting from shows and interviewing riders, connections and those involved behind the scenes. Since joining H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on every subject across the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to stable management — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She also has first-hand experience of working in the equestrian industry as a riding instructor and yard manager.
