Turner wants to be in saddle, not horse around

London: There have been female jockeys before Hayley Turner. But there have been none like her. In her career so far, the 27-year-old has broken all kinds of barriers: the first female Champion Apprentice, the first to run 100 winners in a season, and the first to be considered among the top 10 jockeys in the country.

And, crucially, Turner is nowhere near satisfied. "I'm very ambitious," she admits. "And I know I've had a lot of pats on the back but I haven't done a tenth of what I want to achieve."

What Turner could and should achieve is to become the first female flat jockey considered the equal of any of her male peers.

While women have been allowed to race against men since 1972, and several have "ridden out their claim", none have successfully combatted the prejudice of turf culture to prove themselves over the course of a career. If Turner can do so, the implications for the future of women in the sport are thrilling.

Turner's path was no different from that of many others. She had grown up around horses since her mother was a riding instructor but it was only went she went to a taster session at Doncaster Racing School that she took up the idea of becoming a jockey. As an apprentice, convincing trainers to let a girl ride their horses was more of a challenge than the races themselves.

But there were advantages, too: most jockeys struggle with their weight but at 5ft 2in and a natural 48kg, Turner had no such concerns. "Now, if you're good enough, there's no reason why a girl can't get on," she said.

If Turner needed encouragement, she must have found it in the public reaction and support last year when she suffered a serious fall and was initially stood down from racing for a year. The overruling of that decision, on appeal, has already brought its rewards.

"I've had getting on for 60 winners now so I definitely can't complain," she said. "This year it would be nice to get 100 again."