“It’s just a great day,” an elated Rachael Blackmore said as the woman who continues to hammer down boundaries reflected on another landmark achievement: Her first Cheltenham Festival winner. History will recall that it was A Plus Tard who provided it, Henry de Bromhead’s charge running out a 16-length victory of the Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase. Rachael Blackmore celebrates after winning the Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase on A Plus Tard on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival yesterday. This was a delight borne out of seeing the hardest working jockey in the business become the first professional Irish jockey to ride a winner at the Festival. To put that into context, no female jockey has previously had more than five at a single Festival.

Source: Irish Examiner March 13, 2019 05:03 UTC