She used to called the Queen of Cheltenham, now Rachael Blackmore is going back to Prestbury Park to help attract more female punters to the famous National Hunt Festival. The 36-year-old Tipperary-born jockey, who won 575 races as a professional jockey, announced her retirement in May this year. She has been appointed Head of Ladies Day at the Festival at Cheltenham, which has been described as the Olympics of National Hunt Racing.
Blackmore last week stepped into her new ambassadorial duties in a bid to encourage more women to attend the races. The Wednesday of March’s Festival next year will be known as Ladies Day, one of a number of measures announced in recent changes to the biggest punting week of the year. The jockey from Killenaule, who has in recent years been invited to Wimbledon and Royal Ascot, is now tasked with finding out what can be done to encourage more women to enjoy a day at Cheltenham.
Blackmore, who was leading jockey at the 2021 Festival, the same year she won the Aintree Grand National, said: “It is going to be a very different experience going racing and not heading for the weighing room, but I’m looking forward to seeing what race days are like from the other side of the rails and working with the team at Cheltenham. I am interested in meeting racegoers to get a proper understanding of why they attend but also what some of the blockers and barriers might be that are stopping their friends and peers from coming. Horseracing is an amazing sport and a day at the races provides so much opportunity for people to socialize with friends and meet new people.
“I’m excited to get involved and see what can be done to engage more women and show them what makes a day at the races such a special and unforgettable experience,” she said.
Blackmore started her new role at the Cheltenham’s November meeting last week and early next year and she will also be on-site at activations in Birmingham, Oxford and Cardiff. Cheltenham CEO Guy Lavender, who moved to Prestbury Park from Marlyebone Cricket Club in 2024, said: “We’ve been evaluating customer data and feedback and what really stood out was the opportunity to grow our female fanbase. From there we have been developing a campaign aimed at encouraging more women to attend race days and Rachael is exactly the kind of aspirational figure we hope will attract a new fan base to the sport.”
Data collated by the Jockey Club in England showed that only a quarter of Cheltenham attendees across the season are female, a much lower figure than the general 39 per cent at other jump tracks in the UK.
NEW DEAL WITH
AVIVA IRELAND
The FAI and the IRFU have expressed their delight with confirmation that Aviva Ireland has extended its comprehensive partnership with Irish football. The renewed agreement includes the naming rights for Aviva Stadium until 2030 and the continued sponsorship of the Republic of Ireland Senior Men’s and Women’s International teams. The new five-year agreement ensures the Ballsbridge venue will remain Aviva Stadium, securing a vital partnership that has been central to the development of Irish football since 2010. With Casement Park now out of the equation the Aviva will host seven games at Euro 2028, including a last-16 game and a quarter-final, with the Republic of Ireland set to play all their group games at the Ballsbridge venue if they qualify automatically. The tournament will be co-hosted by England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland.
‘FIGHT FIRE WITH
FIRE’ IN AFL BATTLE
Peter Twiss the Kerry GAA CEO insists the county will not take the AFL’s heavy recruitment of footballers in the county “lying down.” Kerry has lost a few top GAA players to Aussie Rules in recent years, the most recent was Austin Stacks star and Kerry under200 player Ben Murphy, who is joining the Brisbane Lions.
Twiss said: ‘‘We would be aware of young lads who are being employed, and we would always maybe try and give them another option, with schools, or college, or whatever. You have to be careful doing that because you have to appreciate the player and his family and but you should certainly try to be seen to do something. You can’t be just complaining, and you have got to fight fire with fire up to a point. Now, there’s a limit, obviously but I think you should never give up the battle.’’
Mickey Harte was a critic of tactics of the Aussie Rules clubs when he was manager of Tyrone a few years back, but it has been shown that the percentage of Gaelic footballers who make the grade in Aussie Rules is tiny and really the GAA lose only a handful of players. Down through the years several young Irish youths who didn’t play football at a high level, tried their luck Down Under. I know a few former school friends who emigrated to Australia in the late sixties on a special offer of an 11 pounds fare, provided they stayed for two years, and they are still there. The bottom line is that a lot of Irish people have always emigrated, whether to England, USA or Australia.
BEIRNE, WAFER
RECOGNIZED
Rugby internationals Tadhg Beirne and Aoife Wafer were announced last week as the winners of the Player of the Year awards from the Rugby Writers’ of Ireland for the 2024/25 season. After another stellar season for province and country, Beirne was also named Player of the Series for the British and Irish Lions following their Test series win in Australia. Wafer claimed the award for the second year in-a-row. She played a leading role in Ireland’s win over New Zealand in WXV1 and then earned the Six Nations Player of the Championship award before recovering from injury to play in Ireland’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against France.
MCMAHON LEAVES NAAS
Former Dublin All-Ireland winner Philly McMahon has quit as manager of the Naas senior football team after just five months. The Ballymun man only took up the job in June when Joe Murphy left to manage the Carlow senior football team. Murphy had led Naas to four successive county titles in Kildare. Naas were then surprisingly beaten by underdogs Athy in the Kildare county final last month. After a three-week period of reflection since that defeat, McMahon confirmed on social media that he will not be staying in Naas. He said: “A big thanks to Naas GAA football team, management and everyone involved for their commitment. Personally, I wanted to experience management and I’m grateful to have done so with such a dedicated and talented group. The season didn’t end as we hoped, but it has been a hugely rewarding experience.’’
BARRY MCGANN, 77
The death occurred last week of former Irish Rugby international Barry McGann at the age of 77. McGann grew up on the Western Road in Cork and came to prominence while playing with PBC playing a pivotal role the school’s 1966 Munster Schools Senior Cup success. He was also an excellent soccer player, and scored twice for Cork club Glasheen as they beat Shelbourne to win the FAI Youth Cup and he later was capped for Ireland at youth level and was part of an Irish team that beat a Dutch team that included Johan Cruyff. His performances on the soccer pitch brought him to the attention of his near neighbor from Cork, Noel Cantwell, then captain at Manchester United.
McGann transferred from Cork Con to Lansdowne in 1969, and it was while playing with Lansdowne that he was named as a replacement on the Irish squad to play France only for outhalf Mike Gibson to withdraw with injury and allow McGann win his first cap. He made an outstanding debut and helped Ireland to a 17-9 victory and was so impressive when Gibson returned to fitness, McGann retained the No 10 jersey and Gibson was moved to the centre.
