THE UNFOLDING OF RACING HISTORY.

​Though as I write it may be unheralded, racing history, I believe, has been made in Ireland. To my knowledge, and please correct me if I am wrong, a woman has never led a jockeys’ championship, either flat or jumping, at any point in a season in either this country or Ireland. That has changed. At the beginning of play today Rachael Blackmore leads the Irish National Hunt Championship by two. In a sport that until comparatively recently was male dominated this is an achievement that should not go unreported.
It is early days, of course, and I am not suggesting that come the end of the season she will remain in pole position. That is unlikely, especially when Paul Townsend and Ruby Walsh are back riding, though she might have a sizable lead over them when they do return. And, of course, once Gordon Elliot is revving on full power both Jack Kennedy and Davy Russell will have a say in matters. Yet Blackmore does ride, surprisingly more so at the big meetings than the ordinary fare, for nearly all of the top stables in Ireland, the notable exception being Jessie Harrington, though as all her main rivals for the title also ride for all the top stables this alone will diminish her chances.
Females riding winners is no longer big news, either here or in Ireland. In fact, females riding winners are more often than not ignored in the Racing Post’s accounts of the day’s racing. And even though the Post has been rather busy lately, what with the Epsom Derby and its lesser French equivalent, it is surprising that they are yet to mention a news story that is unique in its achievement. Let’s hope they notice before David Mullins rides a treble and puts a dent in the story!
The reason Blackmore regularly rides for such luminaries as Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliot, Henry de Bromhead and Mouse Morris, and others, is because, as Mullins said after she won a big handicap hurdle for him at the Punchestown Festival, ‘she is not a good female jockey but a good jockey’. I would go as far as to say she is the best female professional jockey yet seen, and that goes for flat and jumps.
What is remarkable, and testament to how life and situations can change so quickly, is that not two seasons ago very few people outside of their families would have heard of Rachael Blackmore or Bryony Frost and yet they have quickly established themselves as two of the brightest stars of the sport. It might not be over-egging the pudding to suggest that they might be the star turns we need to attract the eye of the public and media to our sport.