Rachael Blackmore retires as a pioneering trailblazer who broke new ground
Daughter of a dairy farmer and a school teacher, Blackmore became an unintentional trailblazer as she racked up an ever-expanding list of firsts during what has been an exceptional time in the weighing room.
She had to earn her own leg-up on the pony racing circuit which has seen so many before her cut their teeth. But she also competed in other equestrian events and studied for a degree in equine science at the University of Limerick, with her mother, Eimir, encouraging her to pursue her studies as she felt a full-time riding career was unlikely.
Blackmore rode her first amateur winner for John 'Shark' Hanlon at Thurles in February 2011, and it was he who encouraged her to make the leap. He provided her with a first professional victory, too, at Clonmel on September 3, 2015.
By her own admission, Blackmore was an "extremely average" amateur and felt the best way to change her outlook was to turn professional in search of more rides and in turn more success.
Her hardworking attitude was duly rewarded when she was crowned champion Irish conditional in 2017 - her first first - a year which would prove pivotal as having ridden regularly for Michael O'Leary's Gigginstown House Stud, his racing manager and brother, Eddie, recommended Blackmore to trainer Henry de Bromhead while in the back of a taxi on the way to Aintree.
And so one of racing's most successful partnerships was born.
The duo enjoyed a plethora of big-race success together, but Blackmore's headline victories can be distilled to three horses to hail from the Knockeen yard - Honeysuckle, A Plus Tard and Minella Times.
That is not to demean the likes of other Festival heroes such Captain Guinness, Bob Olinger, Envoi Allen, Quilixios et al or any of Blackmore's other glories, it just that particular trio has obliged on the very grandest of stages.
Her relationship with Honeysuckle spanned the first of the mare's 19 races to her last, with De Bromhead describing the duo as "a perfect storm" of Blackmore's brilliance and Honeysuckle's "deadly" talent.
Their Champion Hurdle triumph in 2021 marked a breakthrough for a female rider in a Festival showpiece, though De Bromhead was quick to underline that Blackmore's ability should not be viewed in gender terms - a sentiment echoed by the rider herself.
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She said at the time: "There's no deal about it. If you want to be a jockey, you can be a jockey. Drive on."
That was to become her theme as she continued to smash down the barriers, not least when achieving worldwide fame via Minella Times' Grand National victory, exclaiming: "I don't feel male or female - I don't even feel human! This is unbelievable."
It perhaps speaks volumes that by the time Blackmore won the Cheltenham Gold Cup aboard A Plus Tard the following year, while her sex remained the headline in the news pages, you had to read a few paragraphs down in the racing section before the fact it was a first win for a female rider was even mentioned.
Blackmore was merely seen by those in the know as one of the best in the weighing room, end of discussion.
The attention that went with superstar status did not always sit well with Blackmore, who is not one to naturally put herself forward, preferring to do her talking on the track.
Her mother hailed her determination and humility, adding: "Despite the successes, Rachael remains true to herself. It's no good having success if you aren't a decent human being".
Indeed, De Bromhead found Blackmore a huge support following the tragic death of his 13-year-old son, Jack, in a pony racing accident in September 2022.
He said: "To see her around when we had our tragedy, around the children and with their friends and all of us - she's an incredible person apart from being a brilliant jockey."
There was hardly a dry eye in the house when Honeysuckle signed off her fairytale career with Mares' Hurdle success just six months after the accident and Blackmore's first thought was for Jack after crossing the line, on what was a hugely emotional day all around.
It would be fair to say Blackmore has become a fan favourite, too, with no better illustration than the support that saw her 2023 Grand National mount Ain't That A Shame sent off at just 10-1 despite having only won a moderate beginners' chase and his owner Brian Acheson declaring him to be "useless".
An inspiration to plenty of young racing fans, whether she enjoys the tag or not, Blackmore bows out as a genuine game changer.
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