Rachael Blackmore and the quest to become a multiple Grand National winner

In the last 12 months or so, Rachael Blackmore has practically completed the sport of National Hunt racing. Six wins at last year’s Cheltenham Festival was enough to see her become the first female rider to take home the Ruby Walsh Trophy — awarded to the meeting’s Top Jockey. But that was topped by a stunning victory in the Grand National just a few weeks later — romping home on 11/1 shot Minella Times and again raising the stock for her and Henry de Bromhead.

Nobody could quite believe what they had witnessed over that three- or four-week period, including Blackmore and De Bromhead themselves. From playing second fiddle and lurking in the shadows of the likes of the renowned Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott in the Irish jump racing scene, here were two fresh faces propelling the sport back into the limelight and mainstream media at a time when it was so desperate for positive headlines.

It’s just such a shame that all of their success this time last year was in front of closed doors. The commentator’s crackling voice bursting out of the old tannoys at Aintree in Liverpool for last year’s National was heard by just a select few hundred people, mostly made up of owners, trainers, yard staff and TV personnel, as the famous racecourse couldn’t open its doors to the tens of thousands of boisterous racegoers desperate to see the grand steeplechase in person.

Fast forward to the present day. There’s now no doubt that Blackmore knows how much she is truly loved by fans of jump racing. She couldn’t quite emulate her half-a-dozen victories from last year, riding three winners over the course of March’s Festival, but she still achieved the one thing that managed to elude her grasp a year ago — a triumph in the Gold Cup.

In hindsight, there was always a sense Blackmore felt that the Cheltenham highlight was the one that got away last year — the only thing missing from a perfect year. And that was all but confirmed as she could barely hold back the tears in the Prestbury Park parade ring when talking to the press following that incredible victory aboard A Plus Tard.

Indeed, the etching that now reads ‘A Plus Tard. Gold Cup 2022. R. Blackmore’ above her peg in the Cheltenham weighing room is something that will surely give her shivers each and every time she returns to jump racing’s HQ. But she will not be prepared to rest on her laurels and take a much-deserved break just yet — with the Grand National and the Punchestown Racing Festival, Ireland’s version of Cheltenham, both on the horizon.

The big question ahead of the ultimate test of horse and rider on April 9^th is, of course, can Blackmore win the National for the second year in a row? That in itself is no easy feat — even if Davy Russell and Tiger Roll made it look incredibly simple in 2018 and 2019, respectively. But that is credit to the legendary Tiger and his immense ability.

With all due respect, and we’re sure De Bromhead and Blackmore would agree, Minella Times is a fraction of the horse Tiger Roll is. It takes a horse of a generation to win the National back-to-back, and it’s a shame the Gordon Elliott-trained legend never got that hat-trick attempt — denied by the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 before owner Michael O’Leary pulled his horse’s entry for two years running due to disagreements over his allocated rating from the handicapper.

But then again, the ‘Blackmore Factor’ is very real. It’s worth noting that Minella Times was once a 50/1 shot ahead of last year’s National, with punters quick to back the De Bromhead-trained horse in the race’s ante-post market following the duo’s success at Cheltenham — which resulted in the bookmakers slashing the JP McManus-owned horse’s odds right down to a general 11/1 chances.

The bookmakers are not running scared this year though, with Minella Times’ Grand National 2022 odds floating around the 16/1 mark — exactly where they were before the Cheltenham Festival. That is perhaps down to the nine-year-old’s form thus far this season though.

Prior to last year’s National, Minella Times’ form card read: 122. His form so far this season is a stark contrast to that — with a fall on his seasonal reappearance in the Punchestown Chase in December followed with the nine-year-old being pulled up by Blackmore at Leopardstown in February.  

The fact Minella Times is heading to Aintree without even finishing a race this season is certainly a cause for concern. But he is a horse that knows this track well having won with such ease last year and he will have one of the best jockeys in the sport on his back. So, who knows what could happen? You’d be foolish to rule them out!