NANAKO FUJITA

She grew up in Moriya, Ibaraki Prefecture, in eastern Japan from a family that was not involved in racing.

After watching racing on TV in sixth grade, she dreamed of becoming a jockey and enrolled in jockey school in 2013, aged 15.

Granted a Japan Racing Association licence three years later, she was the first woman to debut on the circuit for 16 years.

The first victory came aboard Ascii Code at Urawa in 2016. The following year saw her break the record for most wins in a season by a JRA female jockey - she ended the campaign with 14 winners.

She surpassed the record for most career wins by a JRA female jockey on August 25, 2018, when notching up her 35th success at Niigata.

In February 2019 she became the first female JRA jockey to compete in a G1 race, finishing 5th on Copano Kicking in the February Stakes at Tokyo Racecourse.

She won the third edition of the Women Jockeys' World Cup at Bro Park, Sweden, on June 30, after winning two of the five races. She also gained overseas experience in the 2016 Ladies World Championship in the UAE and the 2017 International Mixed Doubles Jockeys Challenge in Macau.