Fall comes before pride for Lizzie the Cheltenham champ
A YEAR ago jockey Lizzie Kelly ended up in the Cheltenham mud, convinced she would never be a winner at the famous festival.
Yesterday, however, the 24-year-old became the first professional female jockey to ride a winner at the event.
The narrow victory on 5-1 favourite Coo Star Sivola, officially by a neck, left her gasping in wonder as she was hugged by her delighted family.
It was an emotional moment on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival, which will peak on Friday with the Gold Cup.
And it was a good day for Irish trainer Willie Mullins, who enjoyed a treble, while JP McManus saw his racehorse Buveur D’Air retain the Champion Hurdle.
But for jockey Kelly the day was about banishing the memories of last year when she became the first woman jockey to compete in the Gold Cup in more than 30 years – but fell head first from her horse about a minute out.
‘After last year I made my peace about never becoming a Cheltenham Festival winner,’ she said yesterday.
‘And now I am. Today it was like I had grown up five years. Last year was very educational.’
Ms Kelly, from Devon, in England was taught to ride by her stepfather, and turned to horseracing around three years ago when she realised that she didn’t want an office job. ‘You have to take your chances while they’re still there, and I’d have regretted not giving it a go,’ she said.
She has broken a number of barriers in the male-dominated sport. In 2015 she not only beat champion jockey AP McCoy while riding as a student amateur at Cheltenham, but also made history by becoming the first female jockey to win one of the main races at Kempton.
Off the track, media attention was on Princess Anne and her heavily pregnant daughter, Zara Tindall, who is expected to give birth to her second child in the summer.