Saffie Osborne 'unbelievably excited' at making US debut in £1.5m leg of Triple Crown

Saffie Osborne has taken her passport to Pimlico on an adventure very few of her peers have experienced to ride in the second leg of the US Triple Crown series, the Preakness Stakes, on Saturday.

A week after landing the Victoria Cup at Ascot in front of the cameras, the 23-year-old will be making her US riding debut on Heart Of Honor, the UAE Derby runner-up trained by father Jamie, in the 150th edition of the race. She will become only the third female rider to compete in the dirt Classic at the famous Baltimore track and the first British-based jockey to take part.

READ MORE:

READ MORE:

and Feargal Lynch had already relocated across the Atlantic when they had their first and only mounts in the race

“I can’t wait,” said Osborne. “It has helped that I’ve been busy in England so haven’t paid too much thought to it until this week. I stayed up to watch the draw and that’s when it began to feel real.

“It’s a pretty niche race for a European jockey to be getting a ride in so it’s cool to do something different. It’s unbelievably exciting.”

Heart Of Honor, beaten by a diminishing nose at Meydan in March, was made a 12-1 chance at Morning Line odds in the nine runner race which is headed by Kentucky Derby runner-up Journalism. His Churchill Downs conqueror Sovereignty does not run.

Despite previous experience of riding on dirt in Dubai, Osborne has had no shortage of advice about riding on the US version.

“It’s amazing how many people have been willing to help and Sophie Doyle, James’ sister who now rides in America, she was our apprentice when I was only eight and has been helping me out,” she said.

“Michael Hills also put me in touch with Steve Cauthen and there’s no man better to speak to about American racing. I’ve been doing plenty of homework and hopefully it will stand me in good stead.”

She continued:: “It’s hard to know where his form from Dubai will stack up against the American horses but his work at home has been very good since he’s returned and I would like to think he is there with a live chance.

“The UAE Derby defeat was a fairly gutting experience, I’m not going to lie. I look back on it now and feel grateful we have a horse of this calibre that allows us to do this. It was painful to get beaten but I believe I had the best horse in that race.

“I’d forget all about that if he went and won an American Classic.”