Rachael Blackmore: Winning the Gold Cup is a feeling I will never forget

• Rachael discusses winning the Gold Cup last year

• Why she craves pressure at the Festival

• Winning the same award as Lionel Messi

Winning the Gold Cup

"The Gold Cup is what the whole week at Cheltenham builds up towards, it's the biggest race of the week and a race that every jockey would love to win. Finishing second in it the year before, you think that could be the closest you ever get to a win in the Gold Cup."

"But to actually achieve it last year and be lucky enough to say I have now won the race will be a feeling I will never forget."

"I think it is what the whole year builds up towards and it really is the pinnacle of our year. It is an extremely special place to ride a winner."

"It's the crowd, the atmosphere, the hype and the history as well."

Pressure at Cheltenham

"There is so much expectation going into a week like this but I think it is pressure that you want."

"I want to feel it going into next week because that, in turn, means I have got some very good rides next week. It is pressure but it is, strangely, pressure that you crave and that you want. It just means that you are going to Cheltenham with some good rides."

"I don't know, everyone has different ways of managing it but you just have to be thankful that it is there and get on with it."

Coming up the Cheltenham Hill

"In the Gold Cup for example, you are so focussed on what is going on in the race so you actually can't hear the sound of the crowd as much as you think you might."

"When you cross the line, it's like all of a sudden - when A Plus Tard did it for example - you let all of the external elements in and you are just flooded with this immense noise. It is incredible."

"It's strange but sometimes you can hear the commentator over the crowd and that can actually help you as a rider. Like, if you land over the last, then the tone of the commentator can help you figure out if a horse is closing on you or if you're a good bit in front."

"But the minute you cross that line, it is like someone just hits the volume switch and turns it right up."

GoggleJocks... With Rachael Blackmore

Watch Rachael talk about her historic 2022 Gold Cup victory below...