No more raised eyebrows as Blackmore takes it to another level

IN ONE sense you wonder if the industry should be making a lot more of the Rachael Blackmore story, much and all as the humble jockey would hate that.

This, after all, is Ireland’s first female professional pilot in almost 25 years, making a very good living in a time when the narrative can be quite negative at times regarding the competitiveness of the game and the difficulty for riders who don’t have plum retainers.

Blackmore has done this despite plenty believing she had lost her senses when making the switch in March 2015. What everyone now understands is that it wasn’t some mad notion. The logic is evident at this remove; to use the advantages she possessed in terms of stature, a claim and the ability to steer racehorses from A to B, via a series of obstacles, as quickly as possible.

This is a feelgood yarn, the kind of positive story you would want spun when attempting to attract new, young racegoers.

But the Killenaule woman is not a campaigner, no more than Nina Carberry and Katie Walsh are. There comes a time when having your achievements defined by your gender must becoming boring.

Blackmore is a jockey and her success is that the fuss about her being the only female pro has died down. It’s just about the quality of the job she is doing now, the rides she is getting from a multitude of trainers, and the winners she is totting up.

The kudos have been regular and deserved as she has ridden three doubles this season already while losing her seven-pound claim. The praise is for the way horses jump for her, her tactical nous, judgement of pace and strength in the finish. The key is that the addendum ‘for a girl’ isn’t appearing. All compliments are in the context of her being accomplished in the plate.

That is a credit to the racing people here too. Gender equality is a wider societal issue of course but relatively speaking, Irish racing has moved pretty well with the times – maybe even been slightly ahead of them.

Nina Carberry was the one who really changed the perception of female riders in the contemporary era. Outside of the inner circle, jockeys of the fairer sex tended to be viewed with suspicion by punters. Now, the gender isn’t the negative. It is about their abilities in the saddle.

There were plenty before the incomparable Carberry though. Back in the 1960s, Helen Bryce Smith, who subsequently married trainer of Des McDonogh and is the mother of flat jockey Declan, was a consummate rider in point-to-points, as was Derek O’Connor’s mother, Jean Moore. Between them, they forged the path for women to be allowed ride in bumpers.

The sisters Ann Ferris and Rosemary Rooney exhibited their talents in the 1980s, when Maria Cullen became the last female professional before Blackmore. Caroline Hutchinson was another to prove her worth time and again.

On the flat, Joanna Morgan came from Wales to become the first woman to ride to ride in an Irish classic, the first ride at Royal Ascot and the first to beat Lester Piggott. Cathy Gannon and Sammy Jo Bell are just some of those garnering careers as a result, albeit in England.

Under national hunt rules today, Katie Walsh, Liz Lalor, Kate Harrington and Jane Mangan have all enjoyed considerable success alongside Carberry.

Blackmore is just the latest and if being in the paid ranks gave her curiosity value initially, the fact that she is not just surviving but thriving has placed gender firmly in the background.

“It’s a bit hard to believe how well it has gone” said Blackmore this week. “There has been a lot of luck anyway. To get one winner is very hard. To get two is a real milestone. But I am under no illusions. It’s not going to happen easily and it’s not going to happen all the time.”

That is fairly typical of her self-awareness. She has made this work but there are certainly no notions. She knows that she is a 26-year-old conditional, not fighting for rides in Grade 1s, not to mind winning them.

That is fine though because there was no future at all in the amateur scene which has Patrick Mullins, Carberry and Walsh among the elite operators in bumpers, Jamie Codd, the aforementioned Derek O’Connor and Barry O’Neill leading a stellar cast between the flags.

Turning pro would provide more opportunities. In the 2015/2016 campaign, Blackmore had 170 rides in Ireland that yielded six winners. In the previous five seasons, she had ridden in a grand total of 143 races on the track, winning on five occasions. Her first full professional campaign also produced a cross-channel winner in Stratford last October.

Already this year, prior to racing on Thursday, she was on eight winners from 81 rides. This move was about getting on horses because that is how you get paid.

“The main reason I turned pro was because ‘Shark’ Hanlon (above), who I work for, said he’d have a lot more opportunities for me if I did turn, because I was light enough and had the claim. I’d nothing to lose.

“I would have been point-to-pointing most weekends and had the odd few rides on the track but nothing to the scale I’m doing now. I was never going to be able to make any sort of living. I can focus on it now.

“Point-to-pointing is really competitive. The top amateurs in this country could all be professionals if they wanted. So it’s just about finding your niche in the industry. The way I looked at it was it might be easier to get rides with lighter weights on the track.

“It’s a big bonus being able to claim off 9-10. A lot of people who gave me rides as an amateur supported me. People have been good and I’ve picked up a lot of outside rides as well. Garry Cribbin is my agent and he has done a great job.”

What some couldn’t get their heads around is that she thought about going professional when high achievers like Carberry and Walsh scoffed at the notion. The toll of more falls on their bodies wasn’t worth the risk, they argued.

Blackmore acknowledges the dangers but patiently points out that she wasn’t operating at the same level as the brilliant duo.

“Nina and Katie never had to turn because they were getting on fantastically as amateurs whereas I wasn’t. I had to turn to get the rides. The falls are hard. It’s obviously going to be tougher for girls. Genetically that’s the way it’s going to be but touch wood, I’m okay so far so hopefully I can just stay safe.”

Anyway, you get falls in point-to-pointing too. There have been the usual ‘run-of-the-mill’ injuries (broken collarbones are mere nuisances in this business) but apart from a bad head injury at the beginning of her career, she has managed to stay relatively sound.

Hanlon’s support has been vital. He provided Blackmore with her first winner (Stowaway Pearl) in a ladies handicap hurdle in Thurles in 2011. Davy Russell recommended her, having been impressed when encountering her riding out at Pat Doyle’s while she was studying for an equine science degree in UL. She has since added a business diploma in Griffith College but the targets now are all related to racing.

It took six months to ride her first winner as a professional, a period in which she finished second on four occasions. Most Honourable did the business for her in a handicap hurdle at Clonmel, having provided Andrew McNamara with a winner one his last ride three weeks previously. Then he provided the first leg of Blackmore’s maiden double last May. Purchased for just €600, it is little wonder the six-year-old is the stable pet.

“He’s a special horse in the yard. He’s a really nice horse. Anyone can ride him. He’s a gent to ride and he gave Andy Mac his last winner in the saddle. He gave me my first winners as a professional and then was part of my first double so he definitely gets minded in the yard.”

Since then, Blackmore has established herself as a consistent and dependable customer. More trainers have come knocking and Hanlon’s willingness to give her free rein is central to the success of the venture.

“I work there full time but he gives me maybe a Monday off… he’s so accommodating to let me ride work when I need to. Only for him being so accommodating I wouldn’t be able to get any outside rides. Any time I need to go anywhere – I’ll ask him when we’re not flat-out busy – but he really wants me to get on and is really helpful. He’s never said I can’t go ride work (for someone else) so that’s a big help.”

Ironically, the reduction of her claim reduces her attraction to trainers slightly - the loss of it completely even more so. These are facts of life in racing but Blackmore is slightly different to the normal profile of individual in similar situations in that she will always be able to ride at the bottom of the handicap.

Anyway, if she has ridden enough winners to get to that stage, she will be ecstatic.

“I was probably never going to lose my claim if I stayed an amateur. Or it was going to take me a very long time. So the fact that I have lost my seven-pound claim shows it was the right move – that was my main aim when I turned.”

Confidence is high right now but Blackmore doesn’t believe she is doing anything better as a result.

“Naturally enough, if you’re riding winners your confidence is up. That would be the same with everyone but in a way, while you’re definitely more confident, other than that, I don’t think I ride any differently. On every ride, you’re trying your best and that doesn’t change. But you are obviously more confident.”

The opportunities have increased and thanks to Hanlon’s generosity, she is always available to other trainers. Denise O’Shea has provided four winners, split evenly between Oisin James and Supreme Vinnie.

“She’s a very talented trainer. She’s renting from Liam Burke’s yard. She does a very good job with a small enough team. I go down to her on Mondays. She’s been very good to me and let me ride for her so I’m very grateful. She has Johnny Burke on her doorstep so she doesn’t need to use me (though he’s injured at the moment) but I’m glad she does.

“People are being very good and I suppose when you’re riding winners, your profile is a bit higher and more people give you a chance. But I just work hard and try my best.”

There were always ponies at home but Blackmore’s mother would probably prefer if her daughter had a different job.

“She actually doesn’t mind as much now that I’m riding on the track because at least she can watch me. When I was going point-to-pointing it was probably a bit harder on her. At least she can keep an eye on me on the TV now.”

And the primary target is just to have her mother watching that television as regularly as possible.

“When I made the decision to turn at first I was kind of thinking if I got two rides a week, it would be more than I was getting as an amateur. So what has happened and the rides I have been getting is great.

“I just want to keep riding winners like everyone else. My main target when I turned was to lose my seven-pound claim so it was great to do that. Now it would be great to lose my five-pound claim someday. But the main aim is to ride winners and ride some nice horses.”

So far, so very good.

A version of this article appeared in The Irish Field in July 2016. Since then Rachael has progressed further and after a double at Down Royal today on Honest Robber and Camlann for 'Shark' Hanlon, is now leading the race to be Ireland's leading conditional jockey in the 2016-2017 season by four on 22 wins, from Donagh Meyler.