Jockey Rachael Blackmore has announced her retirement from race riding with immediate effect.

She rode 18 winners at the Cheltenham Festival including the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2022 on A Plus Tard, and the Randox Grand National in 2021 on Minella Times, the first woman to win the two biggest prizes in the sport.

Her partnership with Honeysuckle was one of the most popular in the sport, and she opened up a previously male-dominated sport in a way that will never be forgotten.

In a statement issued on social media, she said, “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.”

She thanked the many trainers and those who had helped her along the way, from Shark Hanlon and Willie Mullins, with a special word for Henry De Bromhead.

She also thanks her sponsors Dornan, KPMG, Volvo, Betfair and PCI Insurance, her racing agent Garry Cribbin and her commercial agent Rebecca Matthews.

“It is daunting, not being able to say I am a jockey anymore… who even am I now!” she concluded “But I feel so incredibly lucky to have had the career I’ve had.  To have been in the right place at the right time with the right people, and to have gotten on the right horses, because it doesn’t matter how good you are without them.  They have given me the best days of my life, and to them I am most grateful.”

 

 

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SPORT FOR BUSINESS PERSPECTIVE

A superstar who transcended her sport.  She will be missed on the biggest of days and at the regular race meetings where her presence was what many present were there for.  

WHAT’S UP NEXT?

Who knows, but she did indicate that she was keen for Rebecca Matthews to keep handling the non-racing requests.

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