At the Cheltenham Gold Cup on Friday, Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the prestigious event.
Her horse, 3-1 favorite A Plus Tard, stormed up the hill for a comfortable victory as the pair avenged last year’s second-place finish behind fellow Henry de Bromhead-trained runner Minella Indo.
It’s not the first “first” Blackmore has achieved in her career. Last season, she became the first woman to win the Champion Hurdle and Grand National.
“It is just unbelievable. I feel so lucky to be honest,” Blackmore told BBC Radio. “It is not even 12 months since I won a Grand National and now this - I feel so lucky.”
The 32-year-old also heaped praise onto A Plus Tard’s efforts. “I knew I had more under me this year than last year, but I didn’t know he was going to go away in that fashion. He is an incredible horse.”
Gloucestershire , United Kingdom - 18 March 2022; A Plus Tard, with Rachael Blackmore up, left, leads eventual second placed Minella Indo, with Robbie Power up, over the last on their way to winning the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup Chase during day four of the Cheltenham Racing Festival at Prestbury Park in Cheltenham, England. (Photo By David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Sportsfile via Getty Images
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
