Horse racing provides British sport with a celebrated opportunity for men and women to compete as equals. In no other sporting event with as high a profile as the Grand National would you see the two sexes do battle with and against each other for a sport’s most cherished prize.
Not only have women competed alongside men, but they have also regularly performed above expectations and smashed a few glass ceilings along the way…
1977 – The first female jockey in the Grand National
The 1977 Grand National is more famous for playing host to Red Rum’s unprecedented third victory in the race, but it was also significant from a social perspective. Aboard rank outsider Barony Fort, Charlotte Brew was the first woman rider to line up alongside her male counterparts. The pair navigated 26 of 30 fences safely, only for Barony Fort to call it a day himself, refusing to take the 27th obstacle.
Although Brew never completed the course, she blazed a trail of 15 women who have now ridden in the great race.
1982 – Geraldine Rees Completes the Course
Just five years after Brew made history, Geraldine Rees secured her own piece of record-breaking. Aboard 66/1 shot Cheers, Rees was the first woman to complete the 4½-mile course, in last of the eight finishers in 1982.
Rees is one of only six female riders to have had multiple rides in the Grand National, although her second attempt was somewhat less auspicious than her first – she and 500/1 outsider Midday Welcome fell at the first in 1983.
1983 – Jenny Pitman trains the winner
Officially, the first horse trained by a woman in the Grand National was Petruchio’s Son, sent out by Susan Morris to finish 11th in 1973. However, this is a matter of pedantics, as at least three Grand National runners were widely known to have been trained by women in the decades before; they simply were not registered or recognised by the Jockey Club.
Even if Petruchio’s Son is considered the first, it took just a decade for a woman to train the winner, as Corbiere, handled by Jenny Pitman, scored in 1983. Both would go on to be Grand National legends, with Corbiere finishing third in both 1984 and 1985, while Pitman did not settle for one winner; Royal Athlete secured a second Grand National triumph for her in 1995.
2009 – The 100/1 winner
14 years on from Royal Athlete’s success, Mon Mome ensured two victories for the underdog: he made Venetia Williams only the second female trainer to win the race, and was also the first 100/1 winner of the Grand National for 42 years. Just four years later, Sue Smith became the third woman to train the winner, with the almost-as-unlikely 66/1 chance Aurora’s Encore.
Ridden by the late Liam Treadwell, Mon Mome careered away from his rivals after having finished tenth a year prior, while he was still in contention when falling five from home in 2010. Williams is still training and is set to saddle Royale Pagaille, another 100/1 chance, in the 2025 renewal.
2012 – Katie Walsh makes the frame
Both Rosemary Henderson and Carrie Ford filled fifth place as riders in the Grand National, but if the official “frame” for each-way places is considered the traditional top four, then Katie Walsh was the first to achieve such a feat in 2012.
She was also the first woman to be aboard a Grand National favourite, with Seabass going off as the 8/1 joint market leader. In front as late as the Elbow, they faded to third and were 13th a year later. Nevertheless, the way was paved for glory…
2021 – Rachael Blackmore wins the race
There is seemingly no feat in jumps racing which Rachael Blackmore is incapable of. After a Cheltenham Festival at which she had ridden the winner of the Champion Hurdle, Blackmore crashed the biggest male-dominated party of all, winning the 2021 Grand National on Minella Times.
Trained by her most significant ally in Henry De Bromhead, Blackmore was in a league of her own aboard the JP McManus-owned eight-year-old. She has ridden in every Grand National since, and six in all, also finishing third on former Gold Cup winner Minella Indo in 2024.
And this year…?
Rachael Blackmore will almost certainly take part in her seventh straight Grand National aboard one of Henry De Bromhead’s hopes, either Minella Indo or Senior Chief. A second win in the race was only taken away from her late on in 2024 when on board the former.
Bryony Frost has also been recalled from France in advance of the 2025 running. She will ride the former Grade 1 winning novice hurdler Stay Away Fay for former boss Paul Nicholls seven years after she finished fifth in the race on Milansbar.
In the training ranks, Lucinda Russell is surprisingly without a runner this year, btu Venetia Williams may have an outside chance for a second victory. Royale Pagaille may be a 100/1 shot in places, but Williams has previous with such long shots before.