18-year-old to emulate Khadijah Mellah with Magnolia Cup ride

The 18-year-old from Gloucester was one of the first students to join the academy, which was established after Mellah’s victory in the race five years ago, aiming to help young people from diverse ethnic backgrounds get into racing. She has since graduated from the Foundation Course at the British Racing School and now works for Kim Bailey. Aswat is excited about the upcoming Magnolia Cup, a charity race for women on August 1, and expressed her long-time dream of being a jockey.

She mentioned that participating in this year’s Magnolia Cup is a dream come true and a surreal experience, especially as she has previously ridden in pony races but now has the opportunity to ride at Goodwood in an amazing race. Mellah, the first British Muslim woman to win a horserace in Britain during the 2019 Magnolia Cup, expressed her ambition to support other young people from diverse ethnic communities and urban equestrian centers into racing. She found it emotional to see one of their students riding in the race that changed her life and kick-started this incredible journey.

Additionally, Goodwood announced that a place in the Magnolia Cup will be offered to a student of the Riding A Dream Academy every year. The Magnolia Cup has raised £2.4 million for charitable causes since its inception.