Irish Times Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Month - February

The Irish Times Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Month for February 2021 is jockey Rachael Blackmore.

There can’t have been too many busier sports people in the country these past few months than Rachael Blackmore. Come the end of Tuesday afternoon’s meeting in Clonmel she had brought her number of races this season to 476, more than any other jockey in Ireland. That her services are so in-demand gives a fair idea of her status in her sport.

Rachael’s win this month provided an overwhelming sense of déjà vu for the awards. She won our February award in 2020 after a hugely successful month that included winning the Irish Champion Hurdle on Honeysuckle. And she’s won the February 2021 award after a hugely successful month that included winning the Irish Champion Hurdle on Honeysuckle. 

She rode to an emphatic 10 length triumph at Leopardstown on the Henry de Bromhead-trained horse that gave Blackmore the third Cheltenham success of her career last year.

She’ll be aiming to add to that tally at Cheltenham next week where she is set to ride Honeysuckle, who is now unbeaten in 10 starts, in the Champion Hurdle and A Plus Tard in the big one, the Gold Cup. Victory in the Gold Cup, she said, would even top winning the Grand National. 

Meantime, the Tipperary woman is once again Paul Townend’s closest challenger in the jockeys’ championship, having finished runner-up to him two seasons ago and third last time around.

Blackmore’s stats for the season make impressive reading, her 82 wins, eight of them coming in February, yielding prize money of just under a million, her total prize money over €1.5 million. Little wonder that she’s so busy. 

Congratulations to The Irish Times Sport Ireland Sportswoman of the Month for February 2021 – Rachael Blackmore.