BLACKMORE WIN ‘GREAT FOR RACING’
TED and Katie Walsh have heaped praise on Rachael Blackmore following her historic victory in the Grand National at Aintree.
Barely a month after becoming the leading rider at the Cheltenham Festival, Blackmore became the first woman to ride the winner of the famous steeplechase aboard the Henry de Bromhead-trained Minella Times.
Ted Walsh, who trained Papillon to win the Grand National in 2000 and saddled Any Second Now who was third in the big race on Saturday, is in awe of the achievements of both trainer and rider.
He said: ‘To win any one of the four races he’s won – a Champion Hurdle, a Champion Chase, a Gold Cup and an English National – you could consider it a good year. To win all four, I don’t remember it ever happening before to one particular trainer.
‘Then of course the icing on the cake was having Rachael on board as well. She’s a wonderful ambassador for the sport, a wonderful rider and such an unassuming young woman. It’s great for the game.
‘To have her on the biggest stage there is and riding the winner is great for the sport.’
Walsh’s daughter Katie had previously achieved the highest placing by a woman in the National when third aboard her father’s Seabass in 2012.
She said: ‘When I knew he (Any Second Now) wasn’t going to get there, I found myself fixed on Rachael and absolutely roaring. She’s a great girl and an extremely hard worker. She’s so modest and realises how lucky, in one sense, she has been for all of this to happen. In another sense, I look at her and think, “You deserve all this, because you are so good”. She’s so tactically aware and so strong mentally and physically. It was a fantastic result for her and for racing.’
Walsh added: ‘I often get asked the question, “Is this going to open the door?”. The door has been open for a very long time to any female jockey.
You need to get the breaks – and when those breaks come, you need to be able to grab the bull by the horns. You have to be good enough and Rachael clearly has everything you need and want.’