10 January 2020

'Fallon Sherrock is opening the door for so many,' says jockey Hayley Turner who was at Ally Pally to witness darts history

Jockey Hayley Turner has said that darts' Fallon Sherrock is 'opening the door for so many' after her history-making run at the World Darts Championships.

Sherrock became the first woman in the sport to beat a man and proceed to the second round of the tournament held at Ally Pally and Turner was there to see it happen.

She said: "It was amazing and it was so good to be there. Everybody was rooting for her and everyone was on her side, it was just brilliant to see.

"You just think about all of the women watching her and how inspiring it must have been for them. It's just opening the door for so many people.

"The standard of players is just going to rise now that there's more coaching, there's more prize money so that they can play full-time as opposed to it being just a hobby," she told The Darts Show podcast.

Turner speaks from experience, having blazed a trailfor women in her chosen sport. She was the first woman to ride 100 winners in a year in British racing, the first to win a British Group 1 outright and the first female jockey to win at Royal Ascot since 1987.

An avid fan of the darts, she has pencilled in her attendance for some Premier League darts in February.

She said: "It's going to be really interesting to see what it's going to be like in 10 years' time. I know that I've pencilled my name down for some Premier League darts in Nottingham in February. If I'm not riding. Maybe I'll be Fallon's lucky mascot!!"

Sherrock has earned a place as a challenger on this year's Premier League bill and will be travelling to New York to compete at the World Series event. 

Fallon Sherrock made history at the World Darts Championship at Ally Pally (PA Images)

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