Rachael Blackmore Profile

Rachael Blackmore is, quite simply, a generational jockey. As a 16-time Cheltenham winner, a three-time Irish Champion Hurdle victor (in three consecutive years) and the first female winner of the Grand National, her CV is loaded with trophies and records alike.

Before becoming a professional jockey Blackmore dominated the amateur scene, riding 11 point-to-point winners and seven winners in her final year as a non-professional in 2015. Later that same year, she won her first race as a full-time jockey when Most Honourable triumphed at Clonmel.

The Irishwoman continued to make a name for herself. Her first piece of history was solidified in 2017 when she became the first woman to win the Conditional Riders’ Championship in her home country.

In recent years, Blackmore has become best known for her winning partnership with Honeysuckle. Their first Grade 1 victory together came in 2019 and the two subsequently rode to four victories in four years at Cheltenham as well as numerous Irish Champion Hurdle victories at Punchestown. Blackmore and Honeysuckle were coined ‘a match made in heaven’.

Her exceptional Cheltenham record continued in 2024, winning the opening race of the festival aboard Slade Steel and riding Captain Guinness to victory in the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase.

Furthermore, she is a former BBC Sports Personality of the Year award winner and received an MBE in 2023 for her services to sport.

Rachael Blackmore Record and Previous Winners

It’s hard not to eulogise over Rachael Blackmore’s record in recent years – especially at Cheltenham. She has entered the winning circle 16 times at racing’s biggest festival, including earning the prestigious title of Gold Cup and Champion Hurdle winner (twice).

She added the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase to her CV with wins at the 2024 festival.

Away from Cheltenham, Blackmore is a household name on the British and Irish racing circuit as a former Grand National winner. In 2021, she was the first female jockey to win the National at Aintree aboard Minella Times.

Despite missing three months due to injury in 2024, Blackmore has returned to form in the new year, winning both the Munsters Hurdle at Clonmel and the Beginners Steeplechase at Gowran Park.

Rachael Blackmore Cheltenham Record

Rachael Blackmore’s Cheltenham record is something to behold, riding to 16 victories since her festival debut.

The first victory of her illustrious career at the greatest show on turf also came in 2019 when she steered A Plus Tard across the finish line in the Centenary Novices’ Handicap Chase. This was closely followed by her second victory at the event with Minella Indo winning the Champion Chase.

Racing’s most prestigious festival continued to be a happy hunting ground for Blackmore in subsequent years as well. In 2020, she rode the horse she would become most synonymous with, Honeysuckle, to her first victory at the Cheltenham Festival in the David Nicholson Mares’ Hurdle.

However, her most outstanding appearance at Cheltenham was undoubtedly in 2021 when she rode six winners across four days. Her beloved Honeysuckle was the most notable victor, coming home with the Champion Hurdle crown.

Other Blackmore winners from 2021 included Allaho in the Ryanair Chase, Bob Olinger in the Novices’ Hurdle, Tellmesomethinggirl in the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle, Quilixios in the Triumph Hurdle and Sir Gerhard in the Champion Bumper.

She defended her Champion Hurdle title in 2022, once again winning with Honeysuckle, but managed to go one better and lift the coveted Cheltenham Gold Cup for the first time in her career with A Plus Tard that same year, becoming the first female jockey to do so.

Blackmore wasted no time in entering the winner's circle in 2024, riding Slade Steel to victory in the maiden race of the festival, toppling the favoured Mystical Power.

Her second win of the festival came in the BetMGM Queen Mother’s Champion Chase, leading Captain Guinness to victory.

Recent Rachael Blackmore Winners

Blackmore, at the time of writing, has garnered two victories in 2025, one coming at Clonmel on Beckett Rock and the other at Gowran Park riding Harry Des Ongrais.

She has ridden numerous second-placed finishers across that stretch – including both of her rides at Fairyhouse in January and her first race at Gowran Park in February.

Blackmore is not in scintillating form heading into Cheltenham but she usually thrives at the greatest show on turf and it would not be surprising to see her form turn over the four-day racing extravaganza.

Form is correct at the time of publication but subject to change

Rachael Blackmore in Numbers

• 2021 – Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the Grand National at Aintree aboard Minella Times
• 16 – She has raced to 14 victories at the Cheltenham Festival, including two Champion Hurdle wins and one Gold Cup victory
• 6 – In 2021, Blackmore rode six different winners at Cheltenham, with the crowning moment being a Champion Hurdle triumph with Honeysuckle
• 92 – She finished second in the 2020/21 Irish Jockeys’ Championship with 92 winners across the season
• 2 – Blackmore was victorious in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle and the BetMGM Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2024

Check out our latest tips for the 2025 Cheltenham Festival as well as other insights ahead of the greatest show on turf. It’s showtime!