Flat jockey Nicola Currie has named her uncle, former Scotland and Liverpool footballer Steve Nicol, as her biggest sporting idol outside of racing.
The 33-year-old, originally from the Isle of Arran in Scotland, is a former All-Weather apprentice champion and one of only a handful of female riders to record 100 winners in a calendar year.
Career highlights
Currie emerged as a leading apprentice jockey in 2018 when she was attached to the Richard Hughes stable, earning headlines for her association with five-time winner Spare Parts on the all-weather before becoming closely associated with Jamie Osborne's yard.
Her career highlights include major Ascot victories and success in the Shergar Cup in 2021, when she was awarded the Alistair Haggis Silver Saddle.
In her own words
Asked to describe herself in three words, Currie said: "Determined, competitive and loyal." She added that she was seven weeks premature, and that the best advice she has been given is to "focus on what you can control and let go of what you cannot".
On her attributes in the saddle, she said: "I like to think I have quite a good clock in my head, I enjoy riding front runners and dictating my own pace of the race."
Her best moment in the saddle was winning the 2018 Challenge Cup on Raising Sand, which she described as her first big winner. She named Cachet as the best horse she has sat on, having won on her first time out before the filly went on to win the 1000 Guineas.
Asked which race she would ride again, she said: "This year it would be Quamby in the Kensington Palace Stakes – I think if I had got a clear run, I would've been very close to my first Royal Ascot winner."
Ambitions and interests
Currie said her main ambitions are to increase her number of winners every year and compete at the top level. She named Ryan Moore as the hardest jockey to beat in a finish, and Ascot as her favourite course, with Royal Ascot her favourite festival.
Her proudest moment away from racing was passing her ballet exam with distinction, and her biggest passion away from racing is going back home to the island and helping on the farm with family. Her most treasured possession is her dog.
If she could have a superpower, she would choose the ability to teleport, and her guilty pleasure is a Chinese takeaway. Her death row meal would be crispy chilli chicken bites, medium-rare filet steak and a caramel flan.
She said she always puts her left boot on first on a raceday and never wears anything new on a big ride. Her one song choice would be "Don't tell your dreams" by STOSLIV & LOVIXXA.
