Prior to her Grand National triumph, Blackmore had already become the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle aboard Honeysuckle, that same year.
In 2022, she secured another first when steering A Plus Tard to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup – one of 18 festival winners she would ride at the Prestbury Park course.
“I just feel so lucky, to have been legged up on the horses I have, and to have experienced success I never even dreamt could be possible,” she added.
“To have been in the right place at the right time with the right people, and to have gotten on the right horses – because it doesn’t matter how good you are without them.
“They have given me the best days of my life and to them I am most grateful.”
The daughter of a dairy farmer and a school teacher, Blackmore rode ponies as a child near her home in Killenaule, County Tipperary.
Blackmore had once hoped to become a vet, gaining a degree in equine science and combining her studies with riding.
She rode her first winner as an amateur in February 2011 at Thurles before turning professional in 2015, but it was her success on Minella Times which secured her place in history.
“I don’t feel male or female – I don’t even feel human!” Blackmore said, immediately after her win by six-and-a-half lengths at Aintree four years ago.
Blackmore brought the curtain down by riding Ma Belle Etoile to victory at Cork last Saturday – the 575th winner of her 4,566-race career as a professional jockey.
Irish Taoiseach Micheal Martin led the tributes and called Blackmore “a sportsperson of a generation” who has “blazed a trail for others to follow”.
Barry Geraghty said his fellow Grand National-winning jockey was “an ultra-talented horsewoman” who was one of “the most committed jockeys you could ever ride against”.
Former jockey and Racing TV pundit Jane Mangan said: “We can only consider ourselves lucky to have witnessed her achievements in our lifetime. She didn’t just break glass ceilings – she painted the whole damn sky.”
Frank Berry, racing manager for JP McManus who owned Grand National winner Minella Times, said Blackmore has had an “unbelievable career”.
“She’s done all things that everyone wants to do. Rachael won all the big races and she’s retiring in one piece. I’m delighted for her,”
Irish trainer John ‘Shark’ Hanlon, who provided Blackmore with her first winner, Stowaway Peal, in 2011 said Blackmore was an “amazing woman”.
“I’m delighted she went out on her own terms. She won’t leave racing because she loves horses, like us all,” he said.
