Fear of failure has always been my driving force, says Saffie Osborne

Classic-winning rider Saffie Osborne revealed it is the fear of failure that ultimately drives her to achieve her dreams at the top level of British racing.

The 24-year-old made history last weekend when she became the first woman to ride the winner of a British Classic when she steered Highwayman to glory in the Betfred St Leger at Doncaster.

But to hit that high she had to pick herself up off the floor at Royal Ascot, where she was left questioning her own ability after encountering no luck in running in the Coronation Stakes aboard Touleen, finishing second to Precise after encountering traffic problems.

Osborne said: “After Royal Ascot, it was tough. There were a few weeks where it felt really hard.

“Touleen was one of those moments where I sat there and felt, ‘when is this going to go right for me?’. You have that seed of doubt in the back of your mind when you think am I good enough or are people looking at me thinking she can’t produce at the top level and stuff like that. I think fear of failure has always driven me.

“I think I’ve always been someone, ever since I was a child, I wanted to try to do everything I could to try to be the best at it, and ever since starting racing I was always terrified of retiring one day and thinking I didn’t achieve what I wanted to.

“Trust me a British Classic was very high up on that list and I feel almost a sense of relief that firstly, I can’t believe that’s happened, and secondly, that whatever happens for the rest of my career I can always look back on that day and see that I’ve achieved a childhood dream.

“It’s amazing how a few minutes can completely change your life. Afterwards it sort of feels this whole season has been building up to a moment like this.

“A lot of things had to happen, I know I worked extremely hard to put myself in a position to get a ride like I did on Saturday, but a lot of things have to happen for me to end up on that horse.

“Irish Champions weekend being on, Dylan Brown McMonagle being injured, a lot of English jockeys being in Ireland. However hard you work you do require a bit of luck and yes I’d created my own luck by working hard to put myself in that position to get those rides, but sometimes you do need a bit of luck.”

Osborne revealed that a message from Hollie Doyle, who herself made history when her 151 wins in 2020 was the most ever in a single season by a female jockey, encouraged her to take a step back to drink it all in.

She added: “Hollie Doyle sent me a message saying well done obviously and make sure you enjoy it all because it is something she regretted, maybe not taking a minute to actually realise what’s happened and what you’ve achieved.

“I wanted to soak it all in because it’s a feeling that I’ve never experienced. You devise this way of staying in the middle of everything and not getting too high or too low and it was the first time I’d let myself feel all the emotions.

“It’s been pretty hectic, but it has attracted a broader audience to racing which if I can help that happen in any way then that’s a real honour because it’s an amazing sport with amazing stories to tell and if one more person watches racing because of what happened on Saturday then that’s a real honour to me.”

Osborne has the chance to hit the headlines for the second week running this Saturday, as she partners the heavily-backed Twilight Calls for Richard Spencer in the Ladbrokes Ayr Gold Cup.

“He has just thrived this year, he hasn’t been out of the first two all year. I love riding him, he’s great fun to ride and he’s like riding a motorbike trying to pick your way through the whole pack,” she said.

“He’s got a decent draw and hopefully I can follow the right one.”