Irish jockey Rachael Blackmore made history in 2022 by becoming the first female rider to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup, the most prestigious event in National Hunt racing. She partnered A Plus Tard to victory in the Blue Riband race of the Cheltenham Festival.
Blackmore and A Plus Tard will be returning to the same contest this year as Henry De Bromhead’s chaser bids to become just the third horse since 2000 to defend their crown in the 3m2½f contest.
A Plus Tard is the 6/1 second favourite in the Cheltenham Festival betting odds for the race on day four of the meeting. He sits behind 11/8 favourite Galopin Des Champs, who recently won the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown.
Blackmore will have aspirations of being the leading jockey at the meeting this year. If you are looking to place a Cheltenham Festival top jockey bet on the Irish woman, she is 11/1 to win the prize.
The Cheltenham Gold Cup could be a key race in determining who is the leading jockey at the end of the week. Blackmore will be hoping for much more from the horse than what he showed on his sole start this season. He was pulled up at Haydock in a Grade One contest which was won by Protektorat.
Other Big Rides across the Week
The 2021 RTE Sports Person of the Year has several major rides which she will be looking forward to at the Festival in 2023. One of those will be Honeysuckle, a horse she has ridden to success at the meeting at the last three renewals, including in the 2021 and 2022 Champion Hurdle.
Honeysuckle recently finished second in the Irish Champion Hurdle under the hands of Blackmore. The dual Champion Hurdle winner is now set to take on her own sex again in the Mares’ Hurdle. She is the 7/4 favourite for that race this year.
The Irish woman is also set to ride Captain Guinness in the Queen Mother Champion Chase on day two of the meeting. The four-time chase winner finished second in the Grade One Paddy’s Reward Club Chase at Leopardstown on his last outing. Blackmore will be hoping he can reverse the form with Blue Lord at Cheltenham.
Grand National Success
Blackmore rose to fame outside the world of horse racing when she won the Grand National in 2021. In what was another record-breaking feat for the leading Irish jockey, she was the first female rider to win the Grand National.
The feature at Aintree is watched across the globe so it was a huge achievement from the talented jockey when she gave Minella Times an excellent ride to land the marathon contest at the Merseyside venue.
The victory in the world’s most famous steeplechase gave Blackmore a lot of confidence on the big stage. She proved she could handle the pressure in major races, justifying De Bromhead’s decision to make her his number-one jockey in his stable.
2023 could be set to be another big year for Blackmore. If she can land the Cheltenham Gold Cup again with A Plus Tard, she will join a small club of jockeys to win the trophy more than once.