Rapid climb up the ranks shown by Blackmore riding top Festival horses, including the Arkle and Ryanair market leaders
Dozens of
Irish horses live in the racecourse stables during the Cheltenham Festival and early each morning they need to be ridden out to the middle of the track to stretch their legs and get a pick of grass before the punters flood into the grandstands. Rachael Blackmore’s total involvement on day two of the 2018 Festival was riding in those canters at dawn before driving 100 miles east to Huntingdon for one mount, a winner in a handicap hurdle for lady riders.
Such is the gritty reality for jockeys, most of whom would go a lot further than 100 miles if there was a winner at the end of it, however unglamorous the contest. But the Huntingdon trip, recalled by Blackmore’s friend and housemate Patrick Mullins, illustrates just how much the 30-year-old’s fortunes have changed.