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For the first time in over a decade, the Cheltenham Festival scales will weigh a little lighter. As the scratchings deadline passed today for the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle and the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase, the entry lists confirmed a landscape without the name Rachael Blackmore in the jockey column.
However, the woman who redefined the sport hasn’t left the Cotswolds behind. Instead, Blackmore is set to make a groundbreaking return to Prestbury Park in a newly created ambassadorial role as Head of Ladies Day. It is a move by The Jockey Club that signals a shift in focus, bringing the most successful female rider in history from the weighing room to the heart of the social and sporting spotlight.
Blackmore’s retirement in May 2025 closed the book on a career that bordered on the mythical. From the relentless dominance of Honeysuckle in the Champion Hurdle to her historic Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup triumph on A Plus Tard, she didn’t just break the glass ceiling; she shattered it.
Her final Festival hurrah in 2025, a gritty victory aboard Bob Olinger in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle, ensured she left at the very summit. Now, as she prepares for her first Festival as a “civilian,” Blackmore is tasked with spearheading the reintroduction of the traditional Ladies Day on Wednesday, March 11—the first time the event has been officially staged since 2019.
The appointment comes amid a drive to engage a wider female audience, with Blackmore fronting the “Style Awards” and providing expert insights across the four days. For the fans who once mobbed the parade ring to catch a glimpse of the “Queen of Cheltenham,” her presence remains the Festival’s greatest draw.
“It’s going to be a very different experience not heading for the weighing room,” Blackmore admitted recently. “But I’m looking forward to seeing the Festival from the other side of the rails and showing more women what makes this place so special.”
While Blackmore prepares for the hospitality suites, the division she once owned—the Mares’ races—is searching for a new protagonist. Today’s closing of entries saw the Willie Mullins-trained Lossiemouth and the emerging Brighterdaysahead for Gordon Elliott dominate the headlines for the Mares’ Hurdle.
In the Mares’ Chase, Jade De Grugy and Dinoblue look set to lead the Irish charge. For Henry De Bromhead, the man who provided Blackmore with her greatest days, the task of finding a pilot to match her clinical timing in these championship races is the ultimate “headscratcher” of the spring.
There will be no nerves at the start line for Rachael this year, but her influence will be felt in every corner of the course. Whether she is judging fashion on the terrace or analyzing the form in the paddock, the 2026 Festival belongs to Blackmore just as much as 2021 did.
The boots may be hung up, but the reign of the most influential figure in modern racing is far from over.
