Rachael Blackmore told BBC Breakfast viewers how a tactical change inspired her historic Gold Cup win.
Just days on from her record triumph on A Plus Tard, the 32-year-old reflected on the magic moment in the saddle. On a show with an average daily reach of 5.7million people, Blackmore explained how she bettered her 2021 second on the same horse.
Blackmore became the first female jockey to take the prestigious race, less than a year after she record the same huge achievement in the Grand National. "The way my horse quickened up after the last, he was just incredible, he really was," she said about A Plus Tard.
"So I think I could have done anything on him in that race, in the manner that he finished. But I suppose I had ridden him in the race last year and finished second so I wanted to do something tactically a bit different, to change it to see if that would work. I changed things up a little bit and it worked. And it's fantastic."
Never out of the first three in 19 races, A Plus Tard galloped 15 lengths clear of runner-up Minella Indo in Friday's feature contest. It was a reverse of the placings from 12 months earlier, when the winner's stablemate was the big race hero.
After taking a similar midfield position, Blackmore delayed her challenge this time, only asking her mount to take the lead at the final fence. On the same type of ground, A Plus Tard put in a fast leap – and showed an impressive turn of pace up the famous Cheltenham hill.
The performance meant Blackmore made headlines once again, 11 months on from her amazing Aintree display on Minella Times. Last year's top jockey at the Cheltenham Festival said: "It has been an incredible 12 months, it really has. I felt that in Cheltenham, I was just thinking to myself it's not 12 months since the Grand National in Aintree. I just feel incredibly lucky, I really really do."
Blackmore was asked about being a role model, with the public wanting to know what horses she's riding. Mentioned in the same breath as AP McCoy and Ruby Walsh, racing fans praised Blackmore for being her usual down to earth self.
She showed her sense of humour in response to the chat with the hosts. "It's a privileged position," she added. "To all those people though (who want to know her runners), the horses don't win all the time. I ride a lot more losers like every jockey than you do winners so 'tread with caution!'
