IT CAN NO LONGER BE CALLED A 'COMING FORCE' IN RACING. IT HAS WELL AND TRULY ARRIVED

By Graham Potter | Wednesday, April 14, 2021

We have all known for some time that female riders are ‘the coming force in racing’ … well, at least that has been a valid argument in recent years.

Not any longer. No longer can it be said that the girls are ON THEIR WAY, because the welcome truth of the matter is that they have well and truly ARRIVED.

Holly Doyle has had a stellar season in Britain and success worldwide, including Hong Kong. Jamie Kah is cruising to a Victorian Metropolitan Jockey’s Premiership and is in sight of riding a record number of metropolitan winners in Melbourne. Kah rubber-stamped her class … not that she needed to … by going to Sydney and riding her first Group 1 winner in New South Wales on Saturday.

And then there is Rachael Blackmore … the winner of one of the greatest races on the planet … the Grand National … on Minella Times … an achievement which emphatically confirmed that there is no safe haven left for male riders ‘only.’

Like many around her, Blackmore doesn’t like the female jockey tag … which is fair enough. The achievements of Blackmore, and others like her, stand their ground however they are viewed, but you won’t stop some people referring to ‘girl power’ though, which really is a description offered as a badge that can be worn with pride.

Of course, it is not only the high-profile riders that deserve recognition. The large and ever-growing number of female riders stretched across the country from Metropolitan to picnic meetings also deserve every acknowledgement for the important part they are playing in contributing to the present state of racing while helping to guarantee the future of the industry.

Trailblazers like Pam O’Neil and Linda Jones must feel a glow of satisfaction at the way the old status quo has given way to a fresh new wave of inclusive talent in the jockey ranks. It was a slow grind at first, but now it is an avalanche which is finally burying the bigoted views of the past.

All credit to them and to those who have continued to advance their dream, live their ambition and take their cause to the point where it is today.
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It was both a magnificent and a monumental moment in sport’s history and one that will resound around the world’s sporting headlines in the coming days as well as being slotted in at the highest level of sporting achievements in the world’s sporting archives.

The result of the 2021 Grand National – Winner: Minella Times. Trainer: Henry De Bromhead. Jockey: Rachael Blackmore … doesn’t even begin to tell the story.

The Guardian’s opening line in one of its reports stated, ‘Not since Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets of Coventry in the 13th century has any woman on horseback caused quite such a public stir.’ The comment was not far off the mark.

Rachael Blackmore’s rise and rise to prominence reached a crescendo on Saturday at Aintree as she wrote her name into the record books as the first woman to ride a Grand National winner … a record that she will obviously own forever more.

That would have been enough in itself to secure greatness, but the fact that most of the British public were riding along with Blackmore, living her every move, tensing up at every jump, willing her to stay in touch with her opportunity to create history and then surging with her as she asked Minella Times to open up a winning break with two jumps left to negotiate … it all followed a picture perfect script in which everybody felt like a winner for having the privilege to witness something very special indeed.
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Blackmore had a strong following and was doing well enough with the support of top trainer Henry De Bromhead, amongst others, before she rose to a whole new level at this year’s Cheltenham Festival where she came away as the first woman to take the Cheltenham Festival top jockey title with six winners, which put her in a clear second place of the all-time list, one behind the great Ruby Walsh who topped the carnival with seven winners on two occasions.

In the process she became the first woman to ride the winner of the Champion Hurdle and the first woman to win the Ryanair Chase. She showed she was human though when she had the stable choice of rides and chose the horse that would finish second in the Gold Cup instead of the Gold Cup winner … a fact which arguably only endeared her to her fans all the more.

Blackmore’s Cheltenham Festival effort has also been credited for breathing life into an industry at a time when its interest and well-being was under question and the public, thirsty for a feel-good story drank in the positive spirit that flowed out of Cheltenham and became intoxicated with the vibe that Blackmore had created.

They would follow her even more closely now and they put their money where their heart was as a stream of money continued to fill the bookmakers bag as Blackmore’s Grand National ride Minella Times price plummeted from 40-1 to 11-1.

Ultimately the bookmakers tried to take evasive action as the weight of money in the bag started to feel like it could become a burden rather than a bonanza but now, unfortunately for the bookmakers, there was nowhere to hide and when Blackmore moved Minella Times up to challenge for the lead as the field took the home turn for the final time, they must have rued the day the go ahead was given for the 2021 Grand National after Covid-19 put paid to the race last year.

But, in the end, even they would have had to tip the cap to a team they had been foolish to take on.
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And yes, of course, winning the Grand National is a team effort and the humble Blackmore wouldn’t want it to be seen as any other way.

Blackmore herself was quick to bring that point home. Speaking even before she had brought Minella Times back off the track, Blackmore said, “What (trainer) Henry De Bromhead does with his horses, I don’t know … but I am so lucky to be riding them.”

She wasn’t kidding.

De Bromhead was an integral part of Blackmore’s Cheltenham success as well as creating a bit of history of his own by winning all of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the Champion Hurdle and the Champion Chase … a unique result to pull off in one festival. The local media call it ‘the Cheltenham Trilogy.’

When De Bromhead added to Grand National to that tally just a couple of months later, that same media talked about him achieving the ‘Grand Slam.’

And, of course, neither Blackmore nor De Bromhead … for all of their substantial contribution … could have won the Grand National without having the right horse.

Minella Times, ran the perfect race, jumped superbly and produced a scintillating finish to underline the fact that he was the best horse on the day and that none of the beaten brigade could have any reason to lay claim to the having been unlucky.

All credit to the horse!
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For all of that team effort though, this story will always come back to Blackmore.

While one race doesn’t define Blackmore, it does mark her planting of a flag at the top of the Mount Everest as far jump jockeys are concerned.

Those lonely, tough testing days when starting out at base-camp, the hardships and hard work that set hurdles of their own in her path which Blackmore had to clear … and the challenges of the injuries and setbacks incurred on the long climb to the top have all moulded Blackmore into the person she is today … a person who stands as a credit to racing and an inspiration to all.

In an interview with the Irish Times back in 2019, Blackmore words gave interesting insight into her character and outlook on the game.

“A win is mostly to do with the horse … nine times out of ten,” said Blackmore.

‘This is a job I love doing. I don’t set myself massive goals for the future. Racing is a very unpredictable sport. It keeps you grounded because you are up there one minute, and the next you are sitting at the back of a fence.”

Which only goes to show … when you don’t get ahead of yourself and just keep your head down and do the hard yards without thinking the sport owes you anything … it is quite amazing how far you can go … and just what an inspiration you can become to so many youngsters.

Just imagine how many of them watched Minella Times’ win and Blackmore’s joy and turned to their parents and said, ‘I want to be a jockey.’

Like O’Neill, Jones, Kah and others, at the end of the day motivating the next generation of riders might just be Blackmore’s greatest achievement of all and, for that, racing will be forever in their debt.