Memorable year gets even better for Hollie Doyle as she wins in Qatar

Hollie Doyle added another landmark success to a record-breaking year when guiding home Maystar on her first ride in Qatar.

It was only two weeks ago Doyle became the winning-most female jockey in a calendar year in Britain when gaining her 107th success of 2019 on Class Clown at Southwell.

With her domestic tally now up to 111, Doyle showed her talents when treading new ground on Friday.

The 23-year-old made the most of the opportunity, as she took the honours on the Archie Watson-trained two-year-old in the Al Rayyan Stakes at Doha.

Doyle had Maystar quickly out of the stalls and into a good position close to the pace set by Return To Senders.

When that horse started to lose his pitch it was Think Big who looked the only serious danger, in a race very few runners got into.

The French raider, ridden by Adrie de Vries, fought hard but Maystar proved too strong in the closing stages and won by three-quarters of a length.

Another French challenger, Happy Bere, was third with Flash Henry fourth. The second British-trained runner home was Hugo Palmer’s Hamish Macbeth, ridden by James Doyle, in fifth place.