Rachael Blackmore made history once again by becoming the first female jockey to win the Boodles Gold Cup during this week's Cheltenham Festival.
Just some of Blackmore's achievements in her career so far include; the Randox Grand National 2021, Unibet Champion Hurdle 2021 & 2022, BBC World Sports Star 2021 and RTE Sportsperson Of The Year 2022 – but now she can add the pinnacle of Jump racing after leading A Plus Tard to victory.
Reflecting on her iconic win, Blackmore said: “You can never dream a dream too big because look what happened to me.”
“I can't believe [winning the Grand National] is not even 12 months ago. I don't know how I'm this lucky! It's phenomenal.
“When I took out my licence, I didn't think I would be riding at Cheltenham, let alone a favourite in the Gold Cup. I'm so lucky to be getting the chance to ride horses in these kinds of races. This is the Gold Cup, you know what I mean?
“To have that roar back and to get to walk back in when you can't see space and you can just see bodies is just incredible. It is the closest thing to feeling like a rockstar you will ever feel without being able to sing. It is just incredible to have people back and I feel very, very lucky.”
This year's result is a reversal of the 2021 result. In 2021, Minella Indo defeated A Plus Tard by a length and a quarter. 2022 saw a closely contested race but in the end A Plus Tard got the better of Minella Indo by 15 lengths.
The win made it 12 Festival winners for Blackmore, while A Plus Tard is the 28th Gold Cup winner to be trained in Ireland.
Winning trainer Henry de Bromhead said: “Incredible. What a ballsy ride by Rachael – she was just unreal. She hunted away there; they went a good gallop and she was very brave, I thought, and brilliant.
“It definitely does [mean more this year than last] – it's the crowds, just looking here at the stands. It's just incredible and this is what it's all about. It was amazing to win it last year, but it's triple amazing this year.”
Asked how proud he is of his daughter, Charles Blackmore said: “It's fantastic. It's just fantastic. You couldn't make it up.
“It's probably a bit of a haze at the moment, but to see the reception that she got on Tuesday, and to do it again today, it's just mind boggling. Everything else pales, it's fantastic.
“Jonathan, her brother, Charlotte, her sister, are both here today, so to get us all here was brilliant. Her mum's at home holding the fort so she's jumping around the kitchen – she's over the moon and so happy that we're all here. Jonathan came from New York, so it's just per chance that he's here. A last minute decision and now he's here and it's brilliant.
“We missed being here last year. Eimir was here with me on Tuesday [this year], so we both experienced that and the roar she got. The support she's getting from both sides of the water is just incredible. People are so kind to her and it's a unique sport and there's so many strands that have to be pulled together to pull off something like this. Owners, trainers, jockeys, horses.
“I was being collected from the airport and the taxi man asked if I have an interest, and I said that I have a daughter riding. He said, 'Rachael?' It's just her first name is used, she's known all over now.”
The post History-Making Jockey Rachel Blackmore: ‘You Can Never Dream A Dream Too Big’ appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
