Rachael paves way for those who follow
SOME SPORTING moments are forever etched in the memory, black and white or colour reels that will be played and replayed until the end of time.
Like in 1936 when Jesse Owens won four gold medals at the Berlin Olympic Games, shattering Adolf Hitler’s hopes of a show of Aryan racial superiority, or underdog Muhammad Ali knocking out the previously undefeated heavyweight champion George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle seven years after he was stripped of his title, suspended from boxing and sentenced to prison for refusing to comply with the Vietnam War draft, or watching the Rugby World Cup unify South Africa in 1995 following the end of apartheid.
From a purely Irish point of view there’s others that will never be forgotten, precious moments in time that delighted a nation.
Ray Houghton sticking the ball in the back of the English net in Euro ’88, Packie Bonner’s save from Daniel Timofte in the World Cup two years later, Pádraig Harrington winning his first major in 2007, Ronan O’Gara’s drop goal which clinched the Grand Slam in 2009, or Katie Taylor winning Olympic Gold in London in 2012, to name just a handful.
We now have another to add to that list, on both an Irish and a global scale, after Rachael Blackmore made history on Saturday.
Following on from her exploits at the Cheltemham Festival, which yielded six winners and the top rider award, the Tipperary woman becoming the first female jockey to win the Aintree Grand National is another one of those watershed moments.
Normally the question is asked, where were you when such and such happened, but in this instance most won’t have to rack their brains too much, given that the majority were stuck at home in front of the television, due to the times that are in it.
Since Charlotte Brew set the ball rolling in 1977, only 20 women have ridden in the most high-profile race of them all, and although there’s often an emotional or interesting postscript, Saturday’s 173rd running of the race is up there with the very best.
Even punters who had backed some of the placed horses were cheering on Minella Times on the run-in as they knew they were witnessing something very special.
The 31-year-old is somewhat of a reluctant hero, not wishing to focus too much on the barriers that she has broken down, but she’s exactly what horse racing needed after a tumultuous few weeks, when it hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
An estimated global TV audience of 600 million watched Blackmore steer Minella Times to victory in the marathon contest, and it was a genuinely feel-good story that resonated around the world.
It’s clear that Blackmore wants to be viewed as a jockey just like any other, and her talent is clearly up there with the very best in the business, but there’s no doubting that her achievements will have a long-term impact on the sport and pave the way for young girls who dream of riding big winners at Cheltenham, Aintree and Punchestown.
That’s why what she has done is so important; she has changed the face of the sport she loves.
Although the beaming Blackmore was understandably the one in the spotlight, what trainer Henry de Bromhead has achieved this year can’t be overstated.
The Waterford handler saddled the first two home in the Grand National, following on from a onetwo in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, adding to his Champion Hurdle and Champion Chase success at the Festival.
Also, after winning all before them at Cheltenham, the Irish dominance of National Hunt racing continued in the National, with sixth-placed Blaklion the best the home team could muster.
British trainers will have to continue the head-scratching and soul-searching, but even they will concede that Saturday’s result was good for racing as a whole.
Blackmore can now concentrate on reeling in Paul Townend, who is currently on the sidelines due to injury, in her bid to be Irish champion jockey, and if she achieves that feat it would be the icing on the cake of an incredible year.
There will come a time when gender won’t be an issue in horse racing and Blackmore, and the likes of Nina Carberry and Katie Walsh before her, will be the ones to thank.
Saturday, April 10, 2021, could well be the date that opened the door for those who follow.