Rachael Blackmore has a long list of achievements to her name during one of the great riding careers over jumps, including wins in the Grand National and Gold Cup and the leading jockey’s prize at the Festival in March. But she has not, as yet, ridden a winner over the cross-country course at Cheltenham – a minor gap on her record that another Gold Cup winner, Minella Indo may help her to address.
Minella Indo, who took steeplechasing’s championship race in 2021, was only fourth behind Latenightpass on his first outing over the course’s unusual range of obstacles at Cheltenham on Friday. But few horses win first time up on this track, and those that adapt to the challenge tend to improve significantly for the experience.
