Horse Racing: Rachael Blackmore retires

A trailblazer of horse racing has decided to retire, and here we reflect on Blackmore’s incredible career.

A number of highly successful and significant jockeys have graced the sport of horse racing over the years. This includes the likes of Frankie Dettori, Tony McCoy, Lester Piggott, Bill Shoemaker, Ruby Walsh, Richard Dunwoody, and Russell Blaze.

Another iconic jockey that no horse racing fan will ever forget is Rachael Blackmore, who announced her retirement from the sport on Monday. Blackmore has not only been a trailblazer, she has also enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in what was an incredible career for the Irish Jockey that has lasted for no less than 16 years.

Blackmore’s first victory came back in 2011 when she rode the John ‘Shark’ Hanlon trained Stowaway Pearl at Thurles Racecourse, before then going on to turn professional four years later in 2015.

2015 saw her become the first female jockey since Maria Cullen to join the paid ranks in Ireland following a first professional ride on board Redwood Boy at Down Royal on St. Patrick’s Day that year.

Upon announcing her retirement, Rachael Blackmore had the following to say (via Racing Post & X): “My days of being a jockey have come to an end. 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.

“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. The people to thank are endless, it’s not possible to mention everyone, as I don’t want this to be another book, but I’m going to get a few names in here anyway and to everyone else, you know who you are, as they say.

“First, my parents who provided me with the best childhood, and a pony I couldn’t hold! This set the seed for a life of racing. Aidan Kennedy gave me my first ride in a point-to-point. I spent time riding out for Arthur Moore and Pat Doyle which I loved. Sam Curling and Liam Lennon were also big supporters, as were Denise O’Shea, John Nicholson, Ellmarie Holden, Harry Smyth and Gigginstown House Stud.”

2021 was an incredible year for Rachael Blackmore. Firstly, she became the first female jockey to win the iconic and historic Grand National at Aintree, doing so on board Minella Times where she was able to finish ahead of the likes of Aidan Coleman’s Balko Des Flos and Mark Walsh’s Any Second Now in second and third place respectively on the Henry De Bromhead trained horse.

In that same year, Blackmore also became the first female jockey to win the famous Champion Hurdle at the 2021 Cheltenham Festival, doing so on board Honeysuckle, who had been trained by the aforementioned Henry De Bromhead.

This trailblazing win came 44 years after Charlotte Brew had previously made history by becoming the first woman to ride in the Grand National at Aintree back in 1977.

2021 also saw Rachael win that year’s Betfair Chase with A Plus Tard at Haydock Racecourse, with her margin of victory being at no less than 22 lengths in all.

Such were her incredible achievements that year, Blackmore was the recipient of the BBC Sports Personality’s World Sports Star of the Year.

More history was made when Rachael Blackmore officially became the first ever female jockey to have won one of the most historic and globally significant horse races in the world – the Cheltenham Gold Cup – which she was able to win onboard the aforementioned A Plus Tard in 2022.

She did so with a tactic that saw Blackmore delay her bid for glory until the field had approached the second to last fence, which was when she was able to pull off a simply incredible victory.

It was a great performance from the Irish Jockey, who was able to beat runner-up Minella Indo by no less than 15 lengths. This was the best margin of victory since 1995, when the winner was Master Oats, who had been ridden to victory by Norman Williamson.

This, combined with a second consecutive Champion Hurdle victory at the 2022 Cheltenham Festival, doing so with Honeysuckle again, saw Rachael Blackmore become the first jockey since AP McCoy to win the Champion Hurdle and Cheltenham Gold Cup double within the same year.

A year later, Blackmore rode Honeysuckle in what was the horse’s final ever race before retirement in the Mares’ Hurdle at the 2023 Cheltenham Festival, which was a very emotional victory for both De Bromhead and Blackmore.

Honeysuckle and Rachael Blackmore were an incredible partnership, having won 17 of the 19 races that they took part in together. Incredibly, this includes a sensational number of four wins at the Cheltenham Festival in total.

Overall, Rachael Blackmore has enjoyed no less than 18 wins in total at the Cheltenham Festival, and amongst the current Jockeys, she is second only to Paul Townend. Historically, only eight Jockeys have ridden more winners at this iconic race meeting than Blackmore; this alone seals her place in history as amongst the very best jockeys.

Blackmore’s 18th and final victory at Cheltenham Racecourse was with Bob Olinger in the Stayers’ Hurdle at the 2025 Cheltenham Festival on the Thursday, beating the previous year’s winner and the pre-race favourite Teahupoo.

It had followed a victory earlier on in the day in the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle on board Air Of Entitlement. Both Bob Olinger and Air Of Entitlement had been trained by Henry De Bromhead.

Rachael Blackmore finishes her incredible career with no less than 564 race winners, which is a record for a female jump jockey that is such an incredible record that it looks likely to stand the test of time. She also got a further 12 wins in flat racing.

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