The world was still abuzz when news of Jamie Kah’s win at Gr 1 level for Godolphin at Randwick made its way to Aintree in England.
Godolphin, in England, is a wanted name and so when Jamie won not just at G1 level in a $3million race, but became the first female in history to do so for Godolphin, everything changed.
And presumably spurred on by all that, Rachael Blackmore came out and rode a 10 out of 10 race to become the first female to ever win the equally vaunted Grant National.
Fittingly for Aussie viewers who had seen the English-based Godolphin blue carried by Kah on Cascadian, Blackmore wore green and yellow colours to win on MINELLA TIMES overnight.
The gruelling, punishing Grant National, run in front of only a handful of people on course – those people, that very small number because of COVID going down in history themselves as being the ONLY ones to witness history live – proved once and for all that gender plays NO role in horsemanship. Or better put, horsepersonship!
Henry de Bromhead trains the winner and he himself has become a supreme force in this field.
He was also responsible for the runder-up this year in BALKO DES FLOS as well, who filled that position starting at 100-1.
In the venerable Racing Post this morning, Blackmore was quoted as saying: “I just cannot believe it,” she said while still on the back of Minella Times. “He gave me an absolutely sensational spin.
“I’m so lucky to be riding him and I can’t believe we’ve just won the Grand National. I don’t feel male or female right now. I don’t even feel human. This is just unbelievable.”
Until Kah did what she did, it really was.
No longer can any trainer EVER say, this is not a girl’s horse or this is not a girl’s race!
That construct, made originally from pride, ego and ignorance, has been swept aside forever in what was a 16 hour period that changed the world of horse racing globally.
