They’re hardy folk, jockeys. It was less than 24 hours after she put our hearts crossways with that fall at the 10th in the Grand National that Rachael Blackmore was back in action in Tramore last Sunday, and any of us worrying that she might be feeling a bit shook were made to look like the eejits that we are when she rode Hide and Seek to victory in her first race back in the saddle — and an hour later did the very same on board Prince Zaltar.
After she won the Gold Cup on A Plus Tard, the Tipperary woman apologised for struggling to find new ways of summing up her elation. “I wish I had better English to describe how I feel, to be honest — it’s very overwhelming.”
But that’s the very same plight suffered by those tasked with unearthing new ways of describing her history-busting achievements, the thesaurus all used up.
She helped in no small way by describing what it felt like to trot towards the winners' enclosure after winning a race at Cheltenham with the crowds back, after the spookiness of last year's emptiness. "It's the closest thing you can feel to feeling like a rock star without being able to sing," she said.
Well, she got a fair old tune out of A Plus Tard last month, a year after finishing second to Minella Indo, this time reversing the order of Henry de Bromhead’s one-two in some style, winning the race by 15 lengths — her jockeyship leaving even the mighty Ruby Walsh purring.
Having already won the Champion Hurdle on Honeysuckle, Blackmore became the first jockey since Tony McCoy in 1997 to win both the Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup at the same meeting.
And, of course, she made yet more history by becoming the first woman in the 98-year history of the race to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Which made her the holder of the Grand National, Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup crowns all at the very same time.
A rock star, indeed.
“She’s just a savage rider and we’re so lucky to have her,” said de Bromhead of our 2021 Sportswoman of the Year. She is, needless to say, already in the running to retain that particular crown.
Previous Monthly Winner (the awards run from December 2021 to November 2022, inclusive):
December: Ellen Walshe (Swimming) . The 20-year-old Dubliner became the first Irish woman to medal at a World Championships and the first ever, male or female, to do so in an Olympic event when she took silver in the 400m Individual Medley at the World Short Course Championships in Abu Dhabi. Along the way, she broke five Irish records, smashing the longest standing one, Michelle Smith's 1994 400m Individual Medley mark.
January: Lucy Mulhall (Rugby). The Wicklow woman captained Ireland to their first ever HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series final in Seville where they were two minutes away from beating Australia, before conceding two late tries. It was a hugely encouraging run of results by Ireland, which lifted them to fifth in the world rankings, Mulhall leading from the front and earning a place in the team of the tournament.
February: Leona Maguire (Golf). The Cavan native became the first Irish woman to win on the LPGA Tour when she triumphed at the Drive On Championship in Florida, a victory that sent her in to the top 20 of the world rankings for the first time and earned her an exemption in to the Majors. Only Katie Taylor has won more monthly awards since we got under way 15 years ago, a testament to both Maguire’s consistency and excellence.
