Rachael Blackmore caught a ferry home to Ireland yesterday, with experts tipping the first female jockey to win the Grand National to soon join racing’s millionaire jet set.
The 31-year-old would have collected only £28,000 of the £375,000 purse for expertly guiding Minella Times to victory at Aintree on Saturday, because a jockey usually takes 7.5 per cent of the prize money.
Like most jump jockeys Blackmore, from Co Tipperary, is likely to have struggled to make ends meet but Johnno Spence, the managing director of the JSC Communications agency that represents some of the leading female jockeys, believes that Blackmore’s historic victory will put her alongside Frankie Dettori as one of racing’s biggest earners.
“Rachael was already very well respected, and becoming the most successful jockey at this year’s Cheltenham Festival was a turning point for her,” Spence told The Times. “But this has taken it to stratospheric proportions. It’s a brilliant story for racing.”
Riding fees for jump racing in Britain are limited to £174.63 a race. An aspiring National Hunt jockey will do well to cover their costs. Spence added: “For Rachael this should be life-changing. In Flat racing there is Frankie, but in jump racing she should become a massive commercial asset.”
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Traditionally there is more money in Flat racing. In National Hunt, there is no breeding value in the horses because most are geldings, which has a knock-on effect on prize money and other revenue streams. Win Flat racing’s blue-riband event, the Epsom Derby, and a jockey can expect to receive a 40th stake in the horse, which in terms of value can run well into seven figures.
Dettori, 50, who has an estimated personal fortune of £15 million, was also paid a retainer when he rode for Godolphin. In jump racing that is rarer still, with AP McCoy among the few to essentially receive a salary when he rode for JP McManus.
Commercially there is a growing interest in female jockeys. Spence’s agency lists Hayley Turner, 38, and Hollie Doyle, 24, among its clients, and the success that Doyle has enjoyed in Flat racing — the 150 winners she rode last year led to her being crowned the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year and finishing third behind Lewis Hamilton and Jordan Henderson in the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year (Spoty) contest — has led to an American film-maker tracking her progress.
The bookmakers are expecting Blackmore to win Spoty’s overseas award this year and Spence is sure that her representatives in Ireland will be inundated with calls from potential sponsors.
“Her story has everything,” he said. “She wants to be recognised simply as a jockey but the National Velvet [1944 film about a 12-year-old girl who rides a Grand National winner]element to what has happened makes her a source of inspiration, not just for women coming into racing but women across sport.
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“It’s also great for racing, because what we are seeing — with Rachael, Hollie and Hayley — is that their hard work has been rewarded.
“If you’re good enough, you will get to ride the best horses. I do hope this acts as a magnet for other women to become jockeys.”
Blackmore is on the books of Line Up Sports, an agency that also represents several Irish rugby players as well as stars from other sports.
It remains to be seen just how much Blackmore wants to cash in on her success. She is the stable jockey for Henry de Bromhead and is known as a private person who likes to focus on her riding.
A measure of her modesty came yesterday. Winning the National meant that she missed her flight home on Saturday night. Instead, she chose to return with the rest of the De Bromhead team, including the 11-1 shot Minella Times, on an eight-hour ferry crossing to Dublin.
