“It is daunting, not being able to say that I am a jockey any more ... who even am I now,” asked Rachael Blackmore in her retirement statement on Monday afternoon, one that was a bolt from the blue for most of us.
Well, who Rachael Blackmore is, and always will be, is one of this country’s finest ever sportspeople. One who gave us the most magical of memories, at Cheltenham, Aintree and beyond, her humility and thoughtfulness in the immediate aftermath of her greatest triumphs adding to her charm.
From Shark Hanlon to Henry De Bromhead, to her Mam and Dad, she was always quick to deflect her successes on to those who had helped her along the way, waving off the plaudits like they mortified her.
[ Groundbreaking jockey Rachael Blackmore bows out on her own termsOpens in new window ]
Sports’ mightiest victors can often have egos the size of Kilimanjaro, but no harm in that. Although Blackmore’s reluctance to proclaim herself as half decent at her jockeying job made us warm to her even more.
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Remember April 2020? ITV brought us a virtual Aintree Grand National after the actual race was postponed due to Covid-19. It was a surreal spell for all of us, our sporting world descending into a computer game. No one was more confused that year than the winner, Potters Corner, who triumphed at Aintree despite never leaving his Welsh yard.
The following year was no less bewildering, the crowds stayed away from Aintree, the race taking place under the eeriest of circumstances. We were in desperate need of a sprinkling of joy, Blackmore providing it when she rode Minella Times to victory.
“I don’t feel male or female right now, I don’t even feel human, it’s just unbelievable,” she said after becoming the first woman to win the race, Blackmore never comfortable with that ‘pioneering female’ tag.
And that’s the thing – she wasn’t a great woman jockey, she was just a great jockey, her unwillingness to have her career framed in gender terms admirable. Still, though, she left glass ceilings in smithereens.
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In 2021, she won our Sportswoman of the Year award, but she was at a loss to understand how Kellie Harrington, Leona Maguire or Katie Taylor hadn’t pipped her to the gong. Rachael Blackmore simply didn’t understand how great she was.
[ Rachael Blackmore named Irish Times/Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Year 2021Opens in new window ]
She was a delight to chat to, always kind, co-operative and lovely, the warmth of her tribute to fellow jockey Michael O’Sullivan, who died in February after a fall at Thurles, on the Late Late Show a measure of her humanity.
She’ll hate this gender battle but she’s in the running, along with Sonia O’Sullivan and Katie Taylor, for the title of our greatest sportswoman. Mind you, she’d get a mention or two in the battle for, well, the non-gendered contest for the greatest of them all.
Go well, Rachael Blackmore, thanks for the memories. Know who you are. One of Irish sport’s very finest.
