Student Khadijah Mellah registered a fairytale victory as she steered Haverland to victory in the Magnolia Cup at Goodwood.
The 18-year-old was the first rider to race in a hijab in Britain and she delivered her Charlie Fellowes-trained mount with a perfectly-timed run to lift the ladies-only charity race.
Mellah, who hails from Peckham in South London and is set to study mechanical engineering at university in September, learnt to ride at the Ebony Horse Club charity in Brixton - but sat on a racehorse for the first time only in April.
She certainly belied her lack of experience, as she exercised plenty of patience aboard Haverland, only making her move coming into the final furlong.
It was a blanket finish to the race, but after a tense wait, Haverland was eventually called the winner by the judge.
Mellah is now hoping to build on her success, with an amateur licence in her sights, and hopes her triumph will serve as a beacon to others.
She said: "There are no words to describe it. I can't believe it, to be fair. I'm just so glad everyone is here to support me and that Haverland did well and he is OK. He is such an amazing horse and I love him so much.
"Initially, at the beginning, I'm not used to so much attention - there were so many cameras and people trying to feed me information. It was a bit crazy and then we set off.
"Everyone was on the ball at the start and there were three horses in a line in front of me, like a brick wall, and the kickback was flying in my face and I didn't know what to do, so I pulled out to see what would happen.
"I passed the person next to me and I thought, 'I can't believe it is happening'. I then I saw all the family and friends come past and I started crying uncontrollably. It has been amazing.
"Ambitious women can make it and that is what I want to represent. I've had so much support and I can't wait to see other stories of other women doing the same and getting into the industry.
"I'm definitely going to try to get my amateur licence. I definitely want to keep going at it, as I've loved every second.
"It's been a whirlwind and a bit crazy. There has been loads of travelling and meeting new people and I love meeting new people. There have been early mornings and fitness training, but it has been well worth it.
"I bumped into him (Frankie Dettori) yesterday and he gave me a hug and I thought, 'oh my god, this is happening' and it really pumped me up."
ITV Racing presenter, Oli Bell who is producing a film called Riding a Dream regarding Mellah's journey which will air later this year, said: “That was completely and utterly amazing, I had my heart in my mouth the whole race.
"I can’t believe she’s done it and I couldn’t be prouder of Khadijah. We’ve been documenting her journey for the last six months and what she’s accomplished is nothing short of remarkable – it’s hard to overstate the extent of her achievement.
"She’s been learning to race-ride whilst also having to take her A-levels and a large period of this process was during Ramadan but she has taken it all in her stride, as was the case today in front of a massive crowd. I hope that people will see what Khadijah’s achieved and feel inspired. This is a significant moment, not just in racing but in the wider sporting world."
Charlie Fellowes who trained Khadijah’s horse, Haverland, and with whom she has been based for much of her training said: "Khadijah’s just a legend. I’ve never known anyone with so much focus and determination. I’ll be honest, when she came to the yard probably six – eight weeks ago, I wasn’t sure that she would make it.
"Racehorses are such highly strung animals and they are completely different to the horses that she will have ridden at Ebony Horse Club. But with every setback she has just worked harder. She’s turned up, put the hard hours in and she has done it. I had a winner here earlier this week but seeing her cross the finishing line in first place is definitely up there with that. I am absolutely thrilled for her."
David Fleming, Engagement Manager from the charity Ebony Horse Club was on course with a group of ten young riders from the club to watch Khadijah compete. He said, “We all got a real kick out of watching Khadijah do so brilliantly today. It takes a special kind of person to do what she has done and that’s why we put her forward to ride in the race and be in the documentary, Riding a Dream. Ebony Horse Club is a special place and we support 160 children and young people each week with horse related activities. To see one of our riders win at Goodwood is amazing and hopefully more of them will want to get into racing after today.”
The documentary Riding a Dream has been funded by Great British Racing, Goodwood Racecourse and the Racing Foundation as official partners. It is directed by Mattia Reiniger and Tom Bolwell, and produced by Oli Bell and his brother Philip Bell.