Royal Ascot Spotlight: UK-Born Jockey Rachel King Set for Prestigious Carnival Debut
(Source: FanDuel Racing, June 2023)
Jockey Rachel King is poised to cap her globetrotting season with two highly anticipated rides at the prestigious Royal Ascot carnival in the UK. The Australia-based rider, who hails from the UK and grew up just an hour away from the famous English racecourse, will make her Royal Ascot debut on Thursday aboard OTI Racing’s Highland Bling in the King George V Stakes.
King, who relocated to Australia 11 years ago, has firmly established herself as a top jockey in the highly competitive Sydney racing scene. Earlier this year, she achieved a career milestone by becoming the first foreign female rider to win a graded Japan Racing Association flat race, capturing the Group 2 American Jockey Club Cup (2200m) on Chuck Nate while on a successful summer stint in Japan.
“I’m very much looking forward to coming back. Thursday I’ve got a ride, and Friday as well,” King told FanDuel Racing. “We came every year as kids. We used to have a day off school to come. I really wanted to do it for dad, and mum and dad are both going to come on Thursday. It will mean a lot just to have a ride and hopefully be a bit competitive as well.”
In addition to her mount on Highland Bling, King has also been booked to partner Strutting for trainers John and Thady Gosden in the Sandringham Stakes on Friday. While both her rides are currently at double-figure odds, King is confident in their chances, stating, “According to my manager they have (chances). It’s a very difficult meeting to get rides at, everyone wants to be here and wants to be competing. We’ve tried to aim for the top and we’ve got a couple of really nice rides and for good trainers and very good owners.”
King’s stellar 2023-24 season in Australia has been highlighted by a brace of Group 1 victories aboard Just Fine in the Metropolitan Handicap (2400m) and Ozzmosis in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m). Despite missing a couple of months during the summer to ride in Japan, she currently sits eleventh on the Sydney jockeys’ premiership with 29 wins.
With her sights set on making a memorable debut at the prestigious Royal Ascot carnival, the UK-born jockey is poised to cap her globetrotting season in style, riding for top connections and hoping to be “a bit competitive” on the world stage.
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