Gallery: Hayley Turner retires from racing

Leading female jockey Hayley Turner has hung up her boots after her last day of racing, following Doncaster racecourse’s Betfred November Handicap Day (Saturday 7 November).

Top class

Hayley, 32, has decided to retire from riding after a 15-year career.

The daughter of a riding instructor, she first learnt to ride at the age of three. She left school at 16 to attend the Northern Racing College, and her first ride as a licensed jockey was on Markellis at Southwell in March 2000.

She rode her first winner just a few months later on Generate at Pontefract.

Champion

Hayley joined Derby-winning trainer Michael Bell’s yard in 2005 as an apprentice, and went on to take the Champion Apprentice title the same year having ridden 44 winners.

In 2008 Hayley became the first female jockey to ride 100 winners in a season, and she also won her first Group race on Lady Deauville in Germany.

In 2011 she made history becoming the first female jockey to win a British Group 1 race outright, winning Newmarket’s July Cup aboard Dream Ahead. The following year she fulfilled a childhood dream of riding in the Investec Derby.

Inspiration

Hayley’s successes have encouraged a number of other young female riders to go into racing, and she’s inspired her weighing room colleagues as well.

“She’s been an inspiration to me throughout my riding,” said fellow jockey Sammy Jo Bell. “She’s a fantastic jockey and a great role model for young female jockeys.