9 things you might not know about on-form Flat jockey, James Doyle
Flat jockey James Doyle has been enjoying a successful week at Royal Ascot (16-20 June 2020), and here we bring you some facts to help you get to know him a little better…
1. James is 32 years old — he was born on 22 April 1988
2. His mum was a trainer, Jacqueline Doyle. Jacqueline trained Zanay, who won the Winter Derby in 2000.
3. He had his first ride under Rules on 4 June 2004, aged 16. He rode, Somayda, who was trained by his mother, at Goodwood.
4. He has been retained as a jockey by Godolphin since 2014.
5. He rode his first winner on 1 June 2005, when he partnered the Richard Price trained gelding Farnborough to win a Class 6 Handicap run over an extended mile at Wolverhampton.
6. Doyle became stable jockey to Roger Charlton in 2012, and on 31 March, scored his first Group 1 success, when he rode Charlton’s Cityscape to win the Dubai Duty Free Stakes by over four lengths.
7. One of his biggest victories was when winning the Ascot Gold Cup on Big Orange in 2017.
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8. To-date James has rdden in over 8,390 races in Britain, clocking 1,196 wins so far, with many more achieved overseas.
9. He has 121 Group and Listed wins to his name in the UK, clocking over £26m in prize-money.
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Gemma is an experienced journalist, who was a member of H&H staff from 2014 to September 2025. She is passionate about all equestrian sports, including racing and point-to-pointing. She has enjoyed riding out for top trainers Nicky Henderson and Charlie Appleby and took part in a charity Flat race at Epsom in August 2018. Gemma’s has reported from numerous five-star events around Britain and Europe, as well as European championships.