Betfair Ambassador Profile - Rachael Blackmore

In 2021, Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Grand National, a year in which she won six races at the Cheltenham Festival.

Blackmore was crowned leading jockey at the Festival after her Cheltenham Gold Cup triumph.

Her journey started 10 years prior, when she rode her first ever winner as an amateur jockey at Thurles on board Stowaway Pearl.

It wasn't until 2015 when she rode her first winner as a professional, winning on board Most Honourable at Clonmel. Little did she know at the time that this was only the beginning.

Four years after her first professional win came her first Cheltenham Festival success. A Plus Tard won the Chase Brothers Novices' Handicap, before Blackmore guided Minella Indo to victory in the Albert Bartlett.

The following month, her success continued, as she won her first Grade 1 race with Honeysuckle in the Mares Novice Hurdle Championship Final at Fairyhouse, Ireland.

By the end of the season, Blackmore had 90 wins to her name.

Her standout career highlight came in 2021, where she rode Minella Times in the Grand National and won, becoming the first female jockey to ever win the prestigious race.

Blackmore famously said afterwards: "I don't feel male or female right now. I don't even feel human. It's unbelievable."

The jockey enjoyed further success on board Honeysuckle in the 2022 Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, before landing the Gold Cup with A Plus Tard by 15 lengths.

Blackmore has already achieved legendary status within horse racing, but she's hungry for more and we're excited to see what she can achieve in the next 12 months as a Betfair ambassador.