Latest news with #ChampionHurdles
Scottish Sun
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Horse racing legend and ‘true gentleman' Peter Easterby dies aged 95
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) LEGENDARY horse racing trainer Peter Easterby has sadly died aged 95. He won five Champion Hurdles and two Cheltenham Gold Cups during his glittering career. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 1 Peter Easterby has passed away Credit: PA His son Tim confirmed the devastating news in a touching statement. It read: "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of my father Peter Easterby. "He passed away peacefully in his own home with his family by his side. "A true gentleman, legendary racehorse trainer, passionate farmer, lover of country sports and an incredibly proud father and grandfather." Tributes have flooded in, racing pundit Jim McGrath wrote: "A one off, brilliant trainer, great company, down to earth, yet fun and straightforward to deal with. "Loved life and people. Condolences to all the family and his many friends. RIP." Fans added: "Heartfelt condolences to you and your family Tim. One of the greatest racehorse trainers in history. A legacy that will never be forgotten." Another said: "What a man and what a dynasty he founded. So sorry to hear of the passing of Peter Easterby - a very fine Yorkshireman indeed." The three-time Champion Trainer started with seven horses at his Habton Grange stable in the 1950s. He went on to become one of the most decorated in the sport and he is the only to have ever recorded over 1,000 winners in Britain in both flat and National Hunt racing. Back-to-back Champion Hurdle winners Night Nurse and Sea Pigeon were trained by Easterby in the 70s and 80s. Saucy Kit, Alverton and Little Owl were other horses that rode to glory for him. His son Tim succeeded him as a trainer when he retired in 1996. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY.. The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSunFootball.
The Irish Sun
17 hours ago
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Horse racing legend and ‘true gentleman' Peter Easterby dies aged 95
LEGENDARY horse racing trainer Peter Easterby has sadly died aged 95. He won five Champion Hurdles and two Cheltenham Gold Cups during his glittering career. 1 Peter Easterby has passed away Credit: PA His son Tim confirmed the devastating news in a touching statement. It read: "It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of my father Peter Easterby. "He passed away peacefully in his own home with his family by his side. "A true gentleman, legendary racehorse trainer, passionate farmer, lover of country sports and an incredibly proud father and grandfather." Tributes have flooded in, racing pundit Jim McGrath wrote: "A one off, brilliant trainer, great company, down to earth, yet fun and straightforward to deal with. "Loved life and people. Condolences to all the family and his many friends. RIP." Fans added: "Heartfelt condolences to you and your family Tim. One of the greatest racehorse trainers in history. A legacy that will never be forgotten." Another said: "What a man and what a dynasty he founded. So sorry to hear of the passing of Peter Easterby - a very fine Yorkshireman indeed." Most read in Horse Racing The icon started with seven horses at his Habton Grange stable in the 1950s. He went on to become one of the most decorated in the sport and he is the only to have over 1,000 winners in Britain in both flat and National Hunt racing. THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY.. The Sun is your go to destination for the best football, boxing and MMA news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video . Like us on Facebook at
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Blackmore's history-making exploits inspiring to all: de Bromhead
Rachael Blackmore's groundbreaking exploits as a jockey have "inspired people to follow their dreams" Henry de Bromhead, the trainer with whom she teamed up to make history, told AFP on Tuesday. Blackmore caught people -- including de Bromhead -- by surprise announcing she was retiring with immediate effect on Monday. The 35-year-old Irish sporting star would be best known to a global audience having become the first woman jockey to win the world's greatest steeplechase, the Grand National, in 2021 on Minella Times. She also retires as the only woman jockey to have won all four of the Cheltenham Festival's major races. She won two Champion Hurdles -- on the race mare she adored Honeysuckle (2021/22) -- the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup on A Plus Tard and the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Captain Guinness in 2024. She completed the sweep with victory in this year's Stayers Hurdle on Bob Ollinger. For good measure Blackmore -- who turned professional in 2015 -- became in 2021 the first woman jockey to be crowned leading jockey at the festival with six winners, she rode 18 in all. Blackmore, whose mother Eimir said she knew she was blessed with an adventurous spirit as even as a baby she climbed out of her cot regularly, always played down being a woman jockey. De Bromhead agreed that her achievements were an inspiration to all and sundry. "I do not think she likes to focus on that (being a woman)," he told AFP by phone. "She has definitely inspired a lot of people to follow their dreams. "That grit and determination can help you realise them whether you are male or female." De Bromhead said it was hard to quantify what they had achieved together since he brought her on board on a permanent basis in the 2018/19 campaign. "Even if you read it now or watch replays it is pinch yourself stuff. "When we both set out we never thought we would achieve all that. "It is incredible," said de Bromhead before adding with his trademark humility she was the rider, he was the front man as the trainer but there was a "massive team, a lot of cogs behind it (the success)." - 'All the attributes' - For de Bromhead the most memorable moment in their extraordinary journey together was not the Grand National -- though he said her ride was "amazing" on Minella Times "she could see round corners that day" -- nor the marquee races at Cheltenham. It was Honeysuckle's emotion-packed farewell win in the 2023 Mares' Hurdle at the Festival. It came months after de Bromhead's 13-year-old son Jack died as a result of a fall from a horse. "Honeysuckle's win that day both for personal and professional reasons," he said. "It was massive for me and massive for her (Blackmore)." De Bromhead, 52, said the reason he took her on was because he liked "her profile, she had come up the hard way and showed her determination," that despite not enjoying immediate success she "had not stopped riding". He said Blackmore, who was known for riding out and then going to help her farmer father milk 100 cows, brought a lot to the table in the partnership. "Her work ethic stood out and her attention to detail," he said. "She had natural ability, plus humility as she knew what it took to get to the top. "She was also a really good reader of a race, she was fitter and stronger than anyone else, she had all the attributes." De Bromhead says he does not know her reasons for bowing out but "she would have thought everything through" and whilst it must have been tough as she "loved the game" she is going out "at the top." Some trainer/jockey relationships can be fraught and end on a sour note but not this one. "She is a lovely lady," said de Bromhead. "She is a friend of ours, she is great to my family and we all adore her." pi/nr
France 24
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- France 24
Blackmore's history-making exploits inspiring to all: de Bromhead
Blackmore caught people -- including de Bromhead -- by surprise announcing she was retiring with immediate effect on Monday. The 35-year-old Irish sporting star would be best known to a global audience having become the first woman jockey to win the world's greatest steeplechase, the Grand National, in 2021 on Minella Times. She also retires as the only woman jockey to have won all four of the Cheltenham Festival's major races. She won two Champion Hurdles -- on the race mare she adored Honeysuckle (2021/22) -- the 2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup on A Plus Tard and the Queen Mother Champion Chase on Captain Guinness in 2024. She completed the sweep with victory in this year's Stayers Hurdle on Bob Ollinger. For good measure Blackmore -- who turned professional in 2015 -- became in 2021 the first woman jockey to be crowned leading jockey at the festival with six winners, she rode 18 in all. Blackmore, whose mother Eimir said she knew she was blessed with an adventurous spirit as even as a baby she climbed out of her cot regularly, always played down being a woman jockey. De Bromhead agreed that her achievements were an inspiration to all and sundry. "I do not think she likes to focus on that (being a woman)," he told AFP by phone. "She has definitely inspired a lot of people to follow their dreams. "That grit and determination can help you realise them whether you are male or female." De Bromhead said it was hard to quantify what they had achieved together since he brought her on board on a permanent basis in the 2018/19 campaign. "Even if you read it now or watch replays it is pinch yourself stuff. "When we both set out we never thought we would achieve all that. "It is incredible," said de Bromhead before adding with his trademark humility she was the rider, he was the front man as the trainer but there was a "massive team, a lot of cogs behind it (the success)." 'All the attributes' For de Bromhead the most memorable moment in their extraordinary journey together was not the Grand National -- though he said her ride was "amazing" on Minella Times "she could see round corners that day" -- nor the marquee races at Cheltenham. It was Honeysuckle's emotion-packed farewell win in the 2023 Mares' Hurdle at the Festival. It came months after de Bromhead's 13-year-old son Jack died as a result of a fall from a horse. "Honeysuckle's win that day both for personal and professional reasons," he said. "It was massive for me and massive for her (Blackmore)." De Bromhead, 52, said the reason he took her on was because he liked "her profile, she had come up the hard way and showed her determination," that despite not enjoying immediate success she "had not stopped riding". He said Blackmore, who was known for riding out and then going to help her farmer father milk 100 cows, brought a lot to the table in the partnership. "Her work ethic stood out and her attention to detail," he said. "She had natural ability, plus humility as she knew what it took to get to the top. "She was also a really good reader of a race, she was fitter and stronger than anyone else, she had all the attributes." De Bromhead says he does not know her reasons for bowing out but "she would have thought everything through" and whilst it must have been tough as she "loved the game" she is going out "at the top." Some trainer/jockey relationships can be fraught and end on a sour note but not this one. "She is a lovely lady," said de Bromhead.
Irish Daily Mirror
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Classy gesture that sums up reluctant superstar Rachael Blackmore
AINTREE is where it really began for Rachael Blackmore and Aintree is where she made history. Seven years ago Eddie O'Leary was sharing a cab to the track with Henry de Bromhead when the subject of jockey bookings came up. O'Leary recommended the young Tipp jockey to De Bromhead. The rest is racing history... 'My first ride for (De Bromhead) was a Gigginstown horse called Gangster at Kilbeggan in 2018,' Blackmore told me at the Liverpool track in 2022. 'I think I finished about fifth and I remember ringing him after and I just remember thinking, 'That didn't go well'… I knew by him on the phone he wasn't overly impressed at my efforts on the horse. 'But thankfully I rode a few more for him and then things started to get going. My first winner for him was Balzac Turgot at Ballinrobe in 2018 and that was the start of it.' From that point on there was no stopping Blackmore. A Gold Cup, two Champion Hurdles, a host of Grade Ones and most famously a historic Grand National win on Minella Times in 2021. She became the first woman ever to win the world's most famous jumps race, but was not going to be defined by gender. 'I don't feel male or female — I don't even feel human!' she said after winning the great race. The enormity of that Grand National success took a bit of getting used to. 'There's definitely a massive global reach that the Grand National has and I really felt that,' she said. 'The Grand National seems to reach different parts of the world that no other races do.' With the win came new-found fame. 'Going to a random clothes shop in Dublin and you're dressed in your normal clothes and someone comes up to you… That's something that didn't happen before,' she said. Blackmore originally wanted to be a vet. She ended up one of most successful big-race jockeys the sport has ever known. Shark Hanlon played a key role in her career, giving Blackmore her first winners as an amateur and professional. But she will forever be remembered for her partnership with De Bromhead. Winning at Aintree for him on Minella Times elevated her to become one of the most recognisable faces in Irish sport. And she had the fan mail to prove it too. 'A lot of times I know the teacher in school is after setting out an assignment of 'Write to someone you admire' because I get a bundle of letters from the same school!' she said. 'It's great that it's sparking an interest in kids.' In the saddle, Blackmore was clinical with a brilliant race riding mind. She was the jockey for the big occasion and tough too, never founding wanting in a finish and able to roll with the punches. Just the second woman to turn professional in Ireland, she was crowned champion Irish conditional in 2017. In a glittering career, she won two Champion Hurdles on board Honeysuckle and landed the Gold Cup on A Plus Tard in 2022. She took the leading rider prize at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival and completed the grand slam of championship races there when taking the 2024 Champion Chase on Captain Guinness and Stayers' Hurdle on Bob Olinger this year. Those big successes all came on horses for De Bromhead and he was always quick to credit the jockey for the stable's success. 'It's not just me, it's a huge team effort. My wife Heather is hugely involved, I wouldn't have been able to achieve anything of that on my own and Rachael's incredible,' he said. It was a school tour to see Istabraq that gave Blackmore the bug and she showed promise over jumps from the very start. There's a famous video clip of her winning a 2004 pony race as a 15-year-old, beating another young hopeful named Paul Townend. Hotel Minella owner John Nallen is a family friend and he watched her progress from an early age. 'You could see what she had from early on. You could always see she was serious about horses jumping,' he said. It was Nallen who sold Minella Times to JP McManus. That made her National victory all the more special for him and a joyous clip of Nallen cheering her home on Minella Times went viral at the time. 'Fairytale stuff,' he said. Soon afterwards Blackmore came down to visit Nallen and went riding with his son Jack, who has special needs. 'Rachael gave him her goggles and he was over the moon with the goggles,' said Nallen. It was another typically understated touch of class from the reluctant superstar. When Davy Russell suffered a very worrying fall at Limerick in 2020, it was Blackmore who found a phone to ring the jockey's wife Edelle and tell her he was okay. De Bromhead also credited her support following the tragic death of his 13-year-old son Jack in a pony racing accident in 2022. '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,' said De Bromhead. Blackmore shared many great days with De Bromhead. Days that will never be forgotten. Wins on Honeysuckle, Minella Indo, Minella Times and A Plus Tard lit up the track and captured the attention of those outside racing's bubble. Jump racing is an unforgiving sport and Blackmore had her fair share of it. A spill at Killarney in 2021 ruled her out for three months with a hip injury and last season she needed a neck brace after a fall at Downpatrick. On Saturday she signed off with a victory at Cork on board Ma Belle Etoile. Fittingly it was for De Bromhead. Yesterday, she called time on her career at the age of 35 with her legacy secure as a trailblazer who reached the very pinnacle of the sport. 'I feel the time is right. I'm sad but I'm also incredibly grateful for what my life has been for the past 16 years,' she said. 'I just feel so lucky, to have been legged up on the horses I have, and to have experienced success I never even dreamt could be possible.' Now she's looking to a future away from the saddle. 'It is daunting, not being able to say that I am a jockey anymore... who even am I now! But I feel so incredibly lucky to have had the career I've had,' she said. 'To have been in the right place at the right time with the right people, and to have gotten on the right horses — because it doesn't matter how good you are without them. 'They have given me the best days of my life and to them I am most grateful.'
