'I've won the Grand National – this is what punters should look for when picking horses'
EXCLUSIVE: This legendary jockey made history when winning the Grand National and has now singled out one factor that can increase a horse's chances.
Rachael Blackmore has outlined one trait that can help a horse win the Grand National. The 36-year-old now-retired jockey won the race in 2021.
Blackmore has been honoured as a Legend of the National at this year's renewal and will go down as a trailblazer of the sport. Five years ago she became the first female jockey ever to win the Aintree spectacle. Henry de Bromhead's charge Minella Times was the horse she steered to National glory. Blackmore chose to leave the saddle behind in May of last year and will watch from the sidelines in Liverpool this weekend. But having been triumphant in the race, as well as finishing third in 2024, she shared that good jumping isn't as important as it may seem.
"I don't know if this is going to help punters at all, but I think a really intelligent horse is such a help," Betfair Ambassador Blackmore exclusively revealed. "Look at the likes of Tiger Roll. He wasn't the best jumper. People knew that about him. But he won two Grand Nationals because he worked out very quickly how to get from A to B without wasting too much time.
"He worked out that you could just brush a little bit of the top of the fences. It was a big help that he was ridden by such an incredible jockey in Davy Russell. But the way the Grand National is now, a horse who can work it out with those little things and not expend too much time in the air jumping, that can be a big help."
Blackmore also recalled the build-up to her 2021 success amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the slightly blunted celebrations afterwards. She said: "I was really looking forward to riding him [Minella Times].
"I'd had some really good spins on him in the lead-up to it. He's a fantastic jumper and he's a really nice ride. I was really looking forward to it. I knew he had his chance.
"But you're kind of always only hopeful going into that race. It's different from riding a favourite in a Champion Hurdle or a favourite in a Gold Cup. The National just has a completely different feel to it.
"I was really excited to ride him because I was hoping he'd be a really good ride in the race and it turns out he was the best of them! Celebrating was very strange because it was during COVID. The whole day was different. We were all kept in an Irish bubble. The Irish jockeys were all together, which was kind of nice for me as well because I felt part of all of that.
"We all stayed in Haydock. There's a hotel in Haydock where all the Irish were staying. So we all went back there. It was very special because that was the kind of reality of the situation at the time, you know?"
