I don’t think any woman has done more for the sport of horse racing than Rachel Blackmore over the past few years.

After ascending to become one of Ireland’s top riders, what she’s achieved at the top table should be, and already has been, a real inspiration for females looking to get into horse racing.

She’s won the biggest accolades, set new records, and made an army of fans who will see her as being one of the best on a horse over the past decade.

She’s rode some very good horses, of course, but regardless of whether it was a big Grade One or a small handicap, her ability in the saddle would always shine through.

The Right Person at the Right Time

I think when Rachel Blackmore came onto the scene, she was the right person, at the right time.

Go back to 2021, she won the Cheltenham top jockey award and lifted home Honeysuckle to land the first Championship Cheltenham race.

Then of course, just weeks later, she went to Aintree and won the Grand National on Minella Times.

The sporting world was just getting back on its feet at the time. We needed new heroes and new reasons to remain heavily linked to the sports we love. For racing fans, Blackmore ticked all of those boxes, and more.

Most of the talk around her retirement will be around her being a woman, and that’s played a huge part in her rise. But I would also argue that the timing of it, and the fact she was associated with horses that people loved, left her to become a kind of cult hero in the sport, at a time when people were looking for one.

The 2021 & 2022 Dominance

I think many people will remember Rachel Blackmore’s riding for her efforts during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, when she came to the fore at the biggest events.

Honeysuckle winning the Champion Hurdle in 2021 and 2022 will remain with many racing fans for a very long time, the first especially, was one of the great Cheltenham Festival wins. Then there’s the 2022 A Plus Tard Gold Cup win, another time Rachel blew the roof off Cheltenham.

This is all without mentioning arguably the biggest race on the UK calendar, the Grand National. Never won by a female jockey, until Blackmore took it in 2021 on board Minella Times for JP McManus.

After this momentous two years, she would continue to pick off Cheltenham Festival wins and would finish her career with a total of 18, and 575 winners overall.

The quartet of Championship races at Cheltenham, the features on each day, are the blue ribband of racing, and in 2025, Blackmore completed the sweep. Adding to her 2021 and 2022 wins in the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup, she won the Champion Chase in 2024 and then the Stayers Hurdle this year, 2025.

Whether we see Rachel again in racing remains to be seen. Given how well she’s spoke after races in the past, it would be great to see her in some kind of analysis role, a role that fellow top jockey Ruby Walsh has slotted into perfectly, I could see her doing the same.