Rachael Blackmore makes retirement admission months on from decision
The Grand National and Gold Cup winner announced her retirement from the saddle back in May and told ITV Racing on Thursday how she has been enjoying it so far, with a night out at Oasis planned in the coming weeks.
"Retirement's going well," she said. "I'm enjoying it so far and I'm doing a lot of things I probably haven't been able to do for the last few years. This week is definitely very different as I'm not heading to Ballybrit [Galway].
"The Oasis tickets have been purchased and I'm seeing them next month. I'm doing all those things you have to say no to as a jockey, like all those invites to friends' barbecues and other things. There's pluses to retirement too."
The 36-year-old also reflected on some of her biggest achievements on the track and working with Henry de Bromhead.
"It's incredible to look now at everything and really take it all in," she said. "There's so many moments that were such joy and elation. Having my first winner on A Plus Tard at Cheltenham was just phenomenal. Henry [De Bromhead] put lots of faith in me and it was a good job I delivered because he was a Gold Cup winner in waiting.
"Honeysuckle's last win [in the Mares' Hurdle] was sensational. It was something I'll never, ever forget. It was phenomenal. The moment of crossing the line in the Grand National I felt I could burst with joy too. There were so many moments and I was so lucky."
Blackmore still hasn't decided what she'll do next, but says she will figure it out over the coming weeks.
"It was a difficult decision, but I wanted it to be a hard decision," she explained. "I thought after Cork that if my aim wasn't to get back to Cheltenham, then maybe it was time to stop.
"When I was riding I never wanted to spend any time thinking about what I wanted to do when I finished. I'll do that over the summer and figure it out."
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