Rachael Blackmore announced her retirement yesterday. The greatest female jump jockey in history. One of the greatest jump jockeys in history.
Efficient, relentless, accurate. Neat, tidy, fit. Steady, grounded, balanced. Eye of an assassin, hands of gold, nerves of steel.
I send videos and photos of Blackmore to young jockeys. This is how you ask for a big one. This is how you wait for a short one. This is how you sit through a bad one. This is how you let your reins slide. This is how you get behind a horse when finishing. This is how you use your leg. This is how you keep your hands light and low. This is how you speak after a race. This is how you handle yourself as a jockey.
My dad, who can be critical of jockeys, fell for Rachael early on, picking up on her patience, her poise, her punch. Dad rode every hurdle with Honeysuckle, every chase fence with Minella Indo, every National fence with Minella Times. When she won on Air Of Entitlement at 16-1 and Bob Olinger at 8-1 at Cheltenham this year, I knew Dad had a good day. I called him when I got home. ‘How’d you do?’ “Great,” he said. “Thanks to Rachael.
Yes, thanks to Rachael. From Gigginstown to Robcour. From A Plus Tard to Envoi Allen. From Minella Indo to Minella Times. From Shark to Henry. From the sport. And from every little girl tilting at windmills, yes, thanks to Rachael.
The first woman to win the Gold Cup, the Grand National, the Champion Hurdle, the Queen Mother…there will never be another Rachael Blackmore. There will be others. But there will never be another.
A jockey’s jockey.
