Racing

Rachael Blackmore out for weeks with injury after fall at Downpatrick

Pioneering jockey injured her neck when her mount Hand Over Fist fell

Jockey Rachael Blackmore after winning. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho
Brian O'Connor
Mon Sept 23 2024 - 21:16

Rachael Blackmore faces weeks on the injury sidelines following a fall at at Downpatrick on Friday.

The pioneering jockey injured her neck when her mount Hand Over Fist fell at the second last fence in a handicap chase. She hasn’t ridden since and has been replaced on a number of mounts at this week’s Listowel festival.

Details of the extent of the problem are unclear but an Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board spokesman said on Monday evening: “Following a fall at Downpatrick on Friday, Rachael Blackmore has sustained a neck injury and will not ride in the coming weeks, while she undergoes rehabilitation for her injury.”

Blackmore (35) is one of the most recognisable figures in Irish sport on the back of her groundbreaking career in jump racing.

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In 2021 she became the first woman to ride an Aintree Grand National winner aboard the Henry De Bromhead trained Minella Times.

Her partnership with Co Waterford trainer has also yielded Cheltenham Gold Cup glory on A Plus Tard as well as a pair of Champion Hurdle successes on Honeysuckle.

Blackmore completed her set of National Hunt racing’s greatest prizes after Captain Guinness landed the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham last March.

In 2021, she was out of action for almost 100 days following a spill at Killarney that saw her pick up a hip injury as well as fracturing an ankle.

Later in 2021 Blackmore was crowned RTÉ’s Sportsperson of the year and the BBC’s world sports star award.

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor

Brian O'Connor is the racing correspondent of The Irish Times. He also writes the Tipping Point column