On this day in 2022: Rachael Blackmore makes Cheltenham Gold Cup history

Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to ride a Gold Cup winner with her victory on A Plus Tard on this day in 2022.

A year after her trailblazing success in the Grand National, the Irish rider grabbed another slice of history at Cheltenham on the 3-1 favourite.

Blackmore had finished second on the same horse a year earlier, unable to get past stablemate Henry de Bromhead-trained Minella Indo.

This time she turned the result on its head, biding her time to come from four lengths behind into the penultimate fence to chase down Indo and sprint clear.

“I just can’t believe it. I’m so lucky to be getting to ride all these kind of horses,” she said in the aftermath.

“You can’t do this without the horses and being attached to Henry’s yard is just absolutely phenomenal. To give me this horse is unbelievable. I don’t know what to say.

“I’ve had so many special days. I wouldn’t swap the Grand National for anything, but this is the Gold Cup!

“You have all these plans about how things are going to work out. Racing doesn’t let that happen all the time and for some reason it’s happened to me today. I just can’t explain how lucky I feel.”

De Bromhead put it down to more than luck, adding: “Rachael was so brave, the way she went about
it, it was brilliant.”