Retired Rachael Blackmore lifts the lid on her summer from skipping Galway Races to seeing Oasis & Wimbledon
The trailblazing jockey took everyone by surprise when
Advertisement
3
The 36-year-old won on her last outing in Cork
Credit: PA
3
She was among the celeb guests at Croke Park as she roared on her native Tipperary in the All-Ireland hurling final
Credit: Sportsfile
3
July also saw her take in a day out at Wimbledon
Credit: @blackmorerachael
Clearly, her schedule is far more flexible than it was over her years of relentless ride bookings throughout the arduous racing calendar.
The most evident example of that is that she's not even in Ballybrit this week despite
Instead, she popped up in
In it she underlined: "Retirement's going well. I'm enjoying it so far and I'm doing a lot of things I probably haven't been able to do for the last few years.
Advertisement
Read More On Irish Sport
"This week is definitely very different as I'm not heading to Ballybrit. The Oasis tickets have been purchased and I'm seeing them next month.
"I'm doing all those things you have to say no to as a jockey, like all those invites to friends' barbecues and other things. There's pluses to retirement too."
The chat then took a more reflective tone as she was quizzed on whether she's now at the stage in her life that her place in the history books has fully sank in.
She acknowledged: "It's incredible to look now at everything and really take it all in.
Advertisement
Most read in Horse Racing
"There's so many moments that were such joy and elation. Having my first winner on A Plus Tard at Cheltenham was just phenomenal.
"Henry De Bromhead put lots of faith in me and it was a good job I delivered because he was a Gold Cup winner in waiting.
Gordon Elliott and Noel Meade in surreal live RTE moment as they react to controversial Galway Hurdle ruling
"Honeysuckle's last win (in the Mares' Hurdle) was sensational. It was something I'll never, ever forget. It was phenomenal.
"The moment of crossing the line in the Grand National I felt I could burst with joy too. There were so many moments and I was so lucky."
Advertisement
The discussion then jumped ahead to her future plans with the Tipperary native yet make any definitive public utterances about what she plans to do next.
She added: "It was a difficult decision (to retire), but I wanted it to be a hard decision. I thought after Cork that if my aim wasn't to get back to Cheltenham, then maybe it was time to stop.
"When I was riding I never wanted to spend any time thinking about what I wanted to do when I finished. I'll do that over the summer and figure it out."
Among her standout achievements was becoming the first female jockey
Advertisement
Likewise, she was the first woman to ride a winner at the Cheltenham Gold Cup with her also
Since retiring she
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
13 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Hopefully I will be back – Lewis Hamilton dejected after Hungaroring nightmare
A dejected Lewis Hamilton said he will 'hopefully' return for Formula One's next race – after he cryptically claimed 'there is a lot going on in the background that is not great' following the Hungarian Grand Prix. A day after Hamilton described himself as 'absolutely useless', and called on his own Ferrari team to replace him, the seven-time world champion started 12th and finished in the same position at the Hungaroring, a lap behind winner Lando Norris. Charles Leclerc was fourth in the other Ferrari. Fronting up to TV cameras after the conclusion of the 14th race of his Ferrari career which has so far failed to live up to its pre-season hype, Hamilton was asked to reflect on his post-qualifying comments. Lewis Hamilton started 12th and finished 12th at Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix (Bradley Collyer/PA) 'When you have a feeling, you have a feeling,' he told Sky Sports. 'There is a lot going on in the background that is not great.' Asked if he had fallen out of love with racing, Hamilton replied: 'No, I still love the team.' Hamilton then headed for his session with the print media. Quizzed on how he felt a day on from being eliminated in Q2 – a performance made all the more harrowing after Leclerc took pole position, he replied: 'Same.' Put to him that his remarks suggesting that Ferrari 'need a new driver' would worry his fans, the British driver again replied: 'Same.' Asked if he had anything else to say other than 'the same', Hamilton said: 'I have got nothing else to say.' Lewis Hamilton doubles down on 'change the driver' Ferrari comment 😔 — Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) August 3, 2025 The sport now breaks for three weeks for its mid-season shutdown. The next race takes place in the Netherlands on August 31. 'Very much so,' said Hamilton, who was then asked if he was looking forward to the summer break. Quizzed as to whether he will definitely be driving at the next round in Zandvoort, Hamilton replied: 'I look forward to coming back… Hopefully I will be back, yeah.' Hamilton has won a record eight times at the Hungaroring but this has been an alarming weekend for the 40-year-old. Hamilton stood largely on his own for the drivers' parade, which takes place before every race, and was later accompanied by Italian rookie Kimi Antonelli. By the end of the first lap, he dropped behind Carlos Sainz and Antonelli and was 14th. At the end of the eighth lap, he was 20 seconds behind Leclerc, then leading, in the other Ferrari, and at the end of lap 14 he trailed his team-mate by half a minute. When he left the pits on lap 43 for his sole change of tyres, Hamilton was a lap down on the leaders. Hamilton fought back past Alpine's Pierre Gasly and then Sainz to cross the line in 12th. However, he is 42 points behind Leclerc, has been out-qualified by his team-mate at 10 of the 14 rounds, beaten him in only two races, at Imola and Silverstone, and is still awaiting his first podium in Ferrari colours. Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff threw his support behind Lewis Hamilton (Bradley Collyer/PA) But Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, who oversaw six of Hamilton's record-equalling seven titles, said: 'Lewis is wearing his heart on his sleeve. 'It was very raw what he said. He was hard on himself. We have seen it before when he felt he had not met his own expectations. He's been that emotionally transparent since he was a young adult. 'But he is the GOAT. He will always be the GOAT. And nobody is going to take it away for any single weekends or a race season that hasn't gone to plan. That is something he always needs to remember – that he is the greatest of all time.' Hamilton's Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur added: 'I don't need to motivate him (Hamilton). He is frustrated but not demotivated, that is a different story. I can perfectly understand the situation.'
Irish Daily Mirror
13 minutes ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Irish rugby star's new child was born in a car moments before big match
Bundee Aki has revealed that his newest member of the family was born in a car two weeks ago - just moments before the rugby star lined out for the British and Irish Lions. The Ireland centre played for the Lions in Saturday's third Test against Australia, but he is now rushing to New Zealand to meet his new daughter, Aine, for the first time. Aki, who is now the father of five children with his wife Kayla, said: "If you only knew the story of what happened, it's a funny story in itself. "I was in the hotel. I knew we were overdue. "The missus calls me and she's like, 'Water hasn't broke but I'm going to the hospital, I'm feeling contractions.' "She goes to the hospital, we're getting ready for the team meeting pre-match, and then she calls me and says she's on the way to the hospital, so I said, 'Fine, be safe.' "Five minutes later, she sends a photo, her water broke. I was like, 'Cool, OK, are you almost there?' "This is like 30 or 40 minutes away from the hospital, so I said, 'You'll be alright, Mum is there.' "Ten minutes later, she video calls me and I was like, 'Shit, what's going on?'. "I saw a baby on the video call, so she had it in the car on the way to the hospital." After getting the shock news, Aki had to compose himself for the Lions' opening Test against Australia in Brisbane. The 35-year-old came on in the second half of the match as the Lions won 27-19 to cap off a wild day for the Connacht centre and his family. "I knew it was good Juju. So I knew we were going to have a good day. "All my kids start with A. So my wife loved the name Aine. That's five As in the family. Armani, Adrianna, Andronicus, Ailbhe, Aine." New Zealand born Aki moved to Galway in 2014 and has since earned 65 caps for Ireland, as well as being involved on the last two Lions tours. But, while some of his Lions teammates were prolonging their stay in Australia to wind down, he flew straight to New Zealand to see his wife and newborn child. He added: "They're both strong and healthy, so happy days. "Credit to my wife. She's a powerful woman, a strong woman."
Irish Times
41 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Rory Gaffney scores twice to send Shamrock Rovers 10 points clear at top of table
Premier Division: Shamrock Rovers 2 (Gaffney 47, 65) Derry City 0 A brace of goals, the second a terrific strike, from in-form Rory Gaffney heaped frustration on Derry City at Tallaght Stadium as Shamrock Rovers edged closer to a fifth title in six years. With 10 games now remaining, Stephen Bradley's side are 10 points clear of second-placed Bohemians and 11 ahead of Derry, who have now not beaten Rovers in 10 games stretching back to March 2023. A record extending 22nd League of Ireland championship is now all but Rovers' to lose. The big result was just the tonic Rovers would have wanted as they now travel to Kosovo to meet FC Ballkani in the first leg of their Conference League third round tie this week. Rovers head coach Bradley rotated his squad once again with five changes from the 0-0 draw with St Joseph's last Thursday. READ MORE And they enjoyed promising early possession here, troubling the Derry defence twice in quick succession nine minutes in. First Gaffney did well to set up ex-Derry midfielder Aaron McEneff who should have done better than shoot over the top. Seconds later, skipper Roberto Lopes's route-one ball over the top dropped for Gaffney who spun visiting captain Mark Connolly, cut across Alex Bannon to rifle narrowly wide. Having survived, Derry, who gave a debut to new signing Jamie Stott in defence, responded to cut Rovers open a trifle too easily on 12 minutes. Sadou Diallo's delightful chip in behind found the clever run of Michael Duffy whose shot beat Ed McGinty with Rovers relieved to see the ball come back off a post. Duffy then skilfully ghosted between Rovers' experienced defenders Lopes and Dan Clary on 28 minutes to shoot wide across goal. And there was another scare for Rovers five minutes before the interval. Duffy again was involved, feeding impressive wingback Brandon Fleming who nipped past Lopes to get his shot away which required a frantic clearance a yard from goal by Lee Grace. Rory Gaffney scores the second goal of the game. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/INPHO Second best in the first half, Rovers came out with added impetus for the restart and were ahead inside two minutes. Danny Mandroiu flicked on Grace's ball down the left for Josh Honohan who skipped away to cross and give Gaffney a simple tap-in. In their groove now, Rovers were close to doubling their lead in the following minutes. Having come in for his debut at half-time, new loan signing Connor Malley shaved the crossbar. Then Honohan really should have scored but contrived to shoot wide dead in front of goal from Mandroiu's cross. Gaffney would make no such mistake on 65 minutes. Powering away down the right on to Dylan Watts' ball, the veteran front-runner cut inside Bannon before driving a shot past Brian Maher to the far corner of the net. It marked the 35-year-old Tuam striker's fifth goal in his last six games; his eighth league goal of the campaign and 10th in total for the season. Derry's bad night in Dublin 24 was compounded on 80 minutes when defender Bannon was dismissed for a foul on Honohan, his second yellow card. St Patrick's Athletic had the ideal fillip ahead of their Conference League meeting with Turkish side Besiktas with a 2-0 away to Waterford to leapfrog them back up to sixth place. Kian Leavy threaded a perfectly weighted through pass for the run of 17-year-old Tottenham-bound Mason Melia who slipped the ball confidently past Stephen McMullan for an 18th minute lead. Substitute Conor Carty sealed the points on 84 minutes when shooting home Brandon Kavanagh's corner. On Saturday, champions Shelbourne warmed up for their Europa League trip to Croatia with a 2-0 win at in-form Sligo Rovers to move to within four points of Bohemians, whom they meet at Tolka Park next Saturday. A fine solo goal from Ali Coote put Joey O'Brien's side into a 47th minute lead. Sean Boyd, who hadn't scored in the league since hitting a brace on the opening night of the campaign, was sprung from the bench to add the second goal on 77 minutes. Sligo finished the game with 10 men after goalkeeper Sam Sargeant was sent off for handling the ball outside his box. Shamrock Rovers: McGinty; Cleary (O'Sullivan, 86), Lopes, Grace; Grant (McGovern, 74), McEneff (Malley, h-t), Watts, Healy, Honohan; Mandroiu (Matthews, 74); Gaffney (Noonan, 69) Derry City: Maher; Bannon, Connolly, Stott; O'Reilly, Winchester, Diallo (R. Boyce, 85), Fleming; L. Boyce (Whyte, 63), Duffy (Doherty, 85); Akinyemi (Mullen, 63) Referee: Paul McLaughlin (Dublin) Attendance: 4,577
