In the 2023/2024 point-to-point season, Izzie Marshall (as she was then) achieved what many aficionados of the sport thought wouldn’t be possible – dethroning perennial female champion rider Gina Andrews, who was seeking a tenth title in a row and eleventh in total.
And Izzie, who turned 25 in July – the same month she married former jockey Joe Hill – achieved this feat in a season-long battle where she went head-to-head with her chief rival every weekend. She talked to Jake Exelby before the start of the new season about the ups and downs of her title-winning campaign.
Asked about her ‘horse of the year’, Izzie – who rode most of her winners for her new father-in-law, leading trainer Alan Hill – replied, “I can’t split Soldier Unknown and I K Brunel. Soldier Unknown was so quiet and unassuming when he arrived that you wouldn’t pick him out but, every time he ran, he grew in confidence and his will to win was amazing – he’d come from the back with a wet sail. He was so important – he won three, the second of which was my 100th pointing success, and I won the title by three.”
“‘I K’”, continued Izzie, “Is a lovely horse who had a great start to his career, but it took him a year to get his confidence back after Aintree in 2023, where he was brought down (by Sixteen Letters, on whom Izzie won two in the spring – “He owed it to me,” she smiles). Last season, he gave me my 100th career winner and he really battled hard at Kingston Blount on the final weekend to beat Gina on the favourite – if she’d beaten us there, she and I would have been level and things would have been different.”
Izzie admits to having no expectation of becoming champion at the start of the campaign. “I just had the same hopes as every year – that I’d have more winners than the season before, that the horses would stay fit and healthy, and that I’d be injury-free. But getting close to Gina? God, no! I’m competitive, but she rides for the biggest yard, with some of the best horses. She’s a great horsewoman, the most successful female amateur rider ever, who’s broken all sorts of records, and I never thought I could compete with her. I knew she’d be focused on riding Latenightpass in the Grand National, but she was still riding in points every weekend, and being ‘best of the rest’ would have been good enough for me.”
She talks me through some of the key moments of the season. “A double at Paxford on Easter Monday made me start to think it might be possible (with two months of the season left) as our horses were running well. Then another double at Peper Harow on 18th May on Sixteen Letters and Soldier Unknown put me four clear.” Does she see any irony in the fact that the former is trained by Josh Newman, who went toe-to-toe with the Hill yard for the trainers title, eventually winning by two? Izzie smiles again. “(Josh’s wife) Kayley asked me to ride him a few years ago, but I couldn’t, so I messaged her when I saw him entered without a jockey booked and she put me up.”
Between those two fixtures, however, things didn’t always go to plan, as Izzie explains. “At Godstone over May Bank Holiday weekend, I won the first and went two ahead, then Gina rode a treble. I thought she’d fly home after that, as on the Monday, she had plenty of fancied mounts at her local meeting at Mollington. But she didn’t have a winner there and I won on Lagan Valley for Julie Wadland and Lavorante for Luke Price the following weekend, to go back into the lead.”
With a title at stake, Izzie admits to a stressful few months – particularly alongside planning a wedding and a full-time job at the Racecourse Association. “If you don’t make an effort to celebrate the good days, it’s easy to forget what a great weekend you’ve had, as you immediately focus on making entries for the next one! And it wasn’t easy to organise potential mounts when I was at work. Gina and I are in the same area, so we were probably ringing the same trainers for outside rides! I remember telling Joe after Peper Harow how annoyed I was that I didn’t feel happier after such a great day and – on the morning of the last Kingston Blount fixture – I found it hard and said to Joe it was over because I thought Gina (who had pulled two back and had another winner before Izzie won on I K Brunel) would overtake me. But, when I won on ‘I K’, it felt within touching distance.”
A pivotal victory - Izzie on I K Brunel beats Gina at Kingston Blount (Neale Blackburn)
Izzie went into the final Monday of the season planning, “We’d celebrate win, lose or draw as it had been a hell of a season. I was two clear of Gina before Chaddesley Corbett, but it was confusing because the last two races were divided, and I didn’t know what she would be riding. Even when I won the first Maiden on Castadrift (main image) to go three ahead, if she’d won all the other races, she’d beat me on countback. In the second Maiden, I pulled up and Gina was still going. I couldn’t hear or see anything and didn’t know who’d won as the horses were out of sight. Then Ebony Yates, who works for us, ran up to me with a big smile on her face, saying, ‘You’ve done it!’”
“The Andrews family – headed by her brother Jack – all came up to me afterwards with congratulations and gave me a massive hug,” adds Izzie. “Gina’s been such a help to me throughout my career, including putting me contact with her agent under rules Gordie Clarkson, who has been fantastic.”
So how did Izzie celebrate? “We all got pissed!” she says with a grin. “I’d had five rides, so was knackered, but running on adrenalin. We had some drinks at the back of the lorry then, when we got home, there was a sign saying, ‘Welcome Home Champion’ that (Joe’s sister) Gaby had put up. We picked up some fish and chips and more drinks, but I had to be back at the RCA office in Ascot at 9am the next day.”
A few days later, Izzie crowned her fine season with a double at the Stratford Hunt Chase evening, on Famous Clermont – “trainer Chris Barber was a great support, and it was brilliant that the owners took a punt on me” – and the Hills’ Learntalot. “I knew he’d like the better ground,” says Izzie. “And Alan was bullish – he’s not normally like that. I was riding with confidence and felt I cemented the championship by riding a double in front of the pointing community, especially as I beat Gina by a head in the first race!”
Izzie acknowledges the influence the Hill family have had, not just last season but on her career. “To have access to three people who’ve ridden at such a high level (Joe rode over 80 winners and was champion novice jockey and mother-in-law Lawney was also a successful rider) has helped. Alan had three Foxhunters winners (one Cheltenham and two Aintree), rode some of the best pointers ever and has nurtured me – he’s always given me advice, sent me for sessions with (jockey coaching guru) Yogi Breisner and didn’t overface me. For example, he didn’t let me ride maidens straightaway, which I wasn’t happy about at the time, but understand now! It’s no surprise the yard’s produced so many champions – the likes of James Tudor as well as leading novices. And Gina’s ridden nearly 50 winners for Alan.”
Izzie and Joe with I K Brunel (Caroline Exelby)
“I’d also like to thank,” continues Izzie, “Every owner and trainer who gave me a ride, as well as my parents and family, and James King – a good friend who was an usher at our wedding and was so helpful last season. I’ve been overwhelmed by all the support and well-wishes I’ve received.”
Izzie with champion male jockey James King (Marilyn Sweet)
“I’d be crazy to think it could happen again,” is Izzie’s honest response about her hopes for next season. “I’d love to defend my title, but Gina’s got a lot of firepower and will be hungry to win it again.” As for other up-and-coming female riders to look out for, “Ellie Holder – who broke her arm last season – makes the most of her opportunities and thinks about her riding. She’s a horsewoman who rides well and has proven herself when given the chance, winning on good horses like Tully’s Touch. Then novice champion Anna Johnston rides well, and Katie Featherstone does a really good job owning, training and riding her own horses.”
Before she retires, Izzie outlines her ambitions in the sport. “I’d love to win another championship – obviously – and to win a Foxhunters. Winning a Cheltenham Hunter Chase would be a realistic target. I’ve had quite a few rides there now and have been placed a couple of times. I’d also love to beat my personal best of 24 point-to-winners from last season – it’s important to set goals every year and for that success to be relevant to me, not measured against others.”
Before I take my leave, I ask Izzie one final question – what advice would she give now to her younger self as a jockey? “I’d do more homework on other horses in a race,” she answers candidly. “Knowing your horse and not the others isn’t enough – you need to be aware of the opposition and how they run. Also, to do everything slowly, not put myself under pressure or make rash decisions. Sudden moments can upset your horse so it’s important to stay calm, get in a rhythm and make the horse happy.”
She closes with word-for-word advice from her father-in-law Alan. “First circuit is for the horse, don’t start to thinking about riding a race until after that.”
Izzie’s Three to Follow for 2024/2025
Carryonaway
A big horse, who’s still only five and has run just three times. He came from Sean Doyle, has a real personality at home (!) and jumps very well. He ran really well on his debut at Tabley but hung on the run-in and was cruising at Larkhill until he hung badly again, but you have to respect any horse who wins a Maiden there. He scoped dirty on his last run and had a lung infection. We’re still learning about him, but he could start going through the grades next season.
Izzie and Carryonaway jumping the last at Larkhill (Tim Holt)
Jongleur D’Ainay
He’s lightly raced and inexperienced, so we’ve been patient with him. The way he won his Maiden last year was fantastic – not so much the form as how he won going away in the fastest time of the day. He shows a lot at home and is a big-framed horse, which is why he only ran once last season – I think it was Nicky Henderson who said it’s about knowing when not to run them. He was raw last year but has come back stronger and I hope he can progress through the grades into Novice Hunter Chases, next year if not this season.
Izzie winning on Jongleur d'Ainay at Wadebridge (Tim Holt)
Soldier Unknown
How couldn’t I pick him? He gives me this feeling I can’t describe because he tries so hard. He wants wet ground – Paxford was a quagmire, and we only ran him at Dingley (where he was second) because of the championship. He’s got a real edge to him, and he’s always done what I’ve asked. Horses like him don’t come round often and I begged Joe not to sell him, though he’s still for sale to stay in the yard. He’ll start in points then go Novice Hunter Chasing on stiff tracks on soft ground – like the Dick Saunders at Leicester or the Exeter Intermediate Final.
A muddy Izzie after winning on Soldier Unknown at Paxford (Graham Fisher)