Rachael Blackmore, the first female Grand National-winning jockey, has retired

LONDON (AP) — Rachael Blackmore, the first female jockey to win the Grand National, retired from horse racing on Monday with immediate effect.

The 35-year-old Blackmore became globally renowned in 2021 when she rode Minella Times to victory in the famous jumps race at Aintree.

A year after that Grand National triumph, Blackmore secured another first for a female jockey when riding A Plus Tard to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Winning the Champion Chase at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival meant Blackmore won all of the championship events at the prestigious meeting across her career — a feat very few jockeys complete and which put her further out on her own among female riders.

Blackmore rode her first winner as a professional in 2015 and bows out with 18 Cheltenham Festival victories.

“My days of being a jockey have come to an end,” she said in a statement.

“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.”

Blackmore said it was “daunting” to not be able to say she was a jockey.

“Who even am I now!” she said. “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.”

Blackmore’s final career success came on Saturday aboard Ma Belle Etoile — fittingly trained by her long-time ally, trainer Henry de Bromhead — at Cork.

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