Rachael Blackmore guides Minella Times to victory, becomes first female jockey to win Grand National
Rachael Blackmore became the first female jockey to win the riding title at the prestigious National Hunt festival over four days at Cheltenham Racecourse in England last month.
It was the prologue for a more famous victory on Saturday.
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Blackmore, 31, became the first female rider to win the Grand National steeplechase at Aintree Racecourse in England, guiding Minella Times ($34) to a comfortable victory by 6 1/2 lengths over longshot stablemate Balko Des Flos, who was more than 100-1.
Blackmore, who rode as an amateur before turning professional in her native Ireland in 2015, rode in the $1.03 million Grand National for the third time on Saturday. She was aboard Alpha Des Obeaux, who fell in 2018, and rode Valseur Lido to a 10th in 2019. The race was not held last year in the early weeks of the pandemic.
This year’s three-day Grand National meeting was held without fans.
Minella Times was the fourth choice in a field of 40. In the first of two circuits of the 4 1/4-mile race, Blackmore had Minella Times well off the pace, and they began to move closer to clear leader Jett after three miles. Jett, who had an advantage of about 10 lengths for more than a mile, quickly faded from contention in the final six furlongs when Minella Times, Balko Des Flos and Burrows Saint moved into contention.
Minella Times took the lead before the second-to-last of 30 fences and repelled a brief that from Balko Des Flos. The first two finishers are trained by Henry de Bromhead, who was the leading trainer at Cheltenham last month. Blackmore frequently rides first call for de Bromhead, who won the Grand National for the first time.
“I am so lucky to be riding these horses for Henry,” Blackmore said. “This is massive.
“Minella Times jumped fantastically and didn’t miss a beat anywhere. I couldn’t believe it, jumping the second-last.”
Even though Minella Times led over the last, Blackmore was aware the final quarter-mile to the finish would be a lasting test.
“I knew he was going to gallop to the line, but we all know what can happen on the run-in here,” she said.
In 2018, Tiger Roll led by six lengths after the last, and was fully extended to win by a head.
In Saturday’s race, 9-1 Any Second Now finished third, giving top owner J.P. McManus of Ireland a first and third. McManus won the race for the second time on Saturday, 11 years after he won with Don’t Push It.
Of the 40 runners on Saturday, 15 finished. Cloth Cap, the 5-1 favorite, was pulled up at the 26th fence. The Long Mile, owned by McManus, sustained a fatal injury, according to published reports in England.
De Bromhead, 48, had his sixth runner in the Grand National with Minella Times, an 8-year-old Irish-bred gelding by Oscar. A winner of 4 of 18 starts, Minella Times ran in the Grand National for the first time on Saturday. The race is open to 7-year-olds and up.
Earlier this year, Minella Times was second in the 22-runner Leopardstown Handicap Chase at about 2 5/8 miles at Leopardstown Racecourse in Ireland in February with Blackmore aboard. Previously, Minella Times had won handicap chases at Navan in 2019 and Listowel last September.