Female Winners at Cheltenham: 47 Winners and Counting

Each year in March, the National Hunt season reaches a crescendo. Held over an action-packed four days, the Cheltenham Festival celebrates the very best of the jumping game. Champions are crowned over a range of distances, as runners from the leading British and Irish yards do battle for a place in the history books.

A beacon for the most talented hurdlers and chasers in the sport, the Cheltenham Festival also provides the stage for the cream of the riding talent, whether male or female. While the names of Ruby Walsh, Barry Geraghty, and Paul Townend occupy the top three positions in the all-time winners table, recent years have witnessed increasing success for the sport’s female riders.

The First Female Cheltenham Winning Jockeys

The 1983 St James’s Place Festival Hunter Chase witnessed the first-ever Cheltenham Festival success by a female rider, as Caroline Beasley came home in front aboard Eliogarty. Four years later, Gee Armytage became the first lady jockey to ride more than one winner at the same edition of the Cheltenham Festival, thanks to the wins of The Elier (Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup) and Gee-A (Plate Handicap Chase).

Kate Rimell (granddaughter of four-time Grand National-winning trainer Fred Rimell) added her name to the list when winning the St James’s Place Festival Hunter Chase in 1989. The pace of success then slowed in the 1990s, with Polly Gundry (St James’s Place Festival Hunter Chase in 1995) the only female rider to enter the winners’ enclosure.

Following that dip, the female riders have exploded into life in the 21st century. At the end of the 2026 edition, 18 different female jockeys had won a total of 47 Cheltenham Festival races between them. Leading the way was a County Tipperary native who, in a 16-year career, established herself as the most successful female jockey in the history of the sport.

The Big Four: The Rachael Blackmore Story

Rachael Blackmore became the first woman to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup as A Plus Tard scooted clear to land the sport’s blue riband prize for trainer Henry De Bromhead 🏆

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) March 18, 2022

Such is the level of competition that no win at the Cheltenham Festival should be taken for granted. However, as with all racing fixtures, the meeting does have its highlights. At Cheltenham, those highlights arrive in the shape of the four Championship-level events: the Champion Hurdle, the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Stayers’ Hurdle, and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

As of 2026, only one woman has ridden the winner in any of the flagship events. Her name is Rachael Blackmore, and, in 2025, she completed the set of the Champion Hurdle, the Queen Mother Champion Chase, the Stayers’ Hurdle, and the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Champion Hurdle: Honeysuckle at the Double

Rachael Blackmore has the wonderful mare Honeysuckle to thank for four of her Cheltenham Festival victories. Having landed the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle in 2020, the pair returned to tackle the big one of the Champion Hurdle in 2021. Sent off as the 11/10 favourite, Honeysuckle emphatically displayed why she was the queen of the two-mile division. Crossing the line six and a half lengths clear of the field, Blackmore became the first female jockey to win one of the four championship events.

Unbeaten in three outings since her 2021 success, Honeysuckle started as the 8/11 favourite to defend her Champion Hurdle crown in 2022. In a near carbon copy of the 2021 edition, Blackmore kicked Honeysuckle into the lead around the home turn and never looked like being caught, the winning margin being three and a half lengths this time.

2022 Cheltenham Gold Cup: A Plus Tard Goes One Better

As the number one jockey to Henry de Bromhead, Rachael Blackmore may have been kicking herself in 2021. Granted the choice of A Plus Tard and Minella Indo ahead of the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Blackmore plumped for A Plus Tard and duly lost out by just over a length to Minella Indo.

She faced the same conundrum 12 months later. Despite Minella Indo arriving as the defending champion, Rachael kept the faith with A Plus Tard. She was rewarded with one of the most spectacular Cheltenham Gold Cup successes of the 21st Century. Bursting through a gap at the second last, A Plus Tard roared up the hill to score by a yawning 15 lengths, with Minella Indo back in second.

Queen Mother Champion Chase: Guinness Floors Rivals

Of Rachael Blackmore’s wins in the championship events, her success in the 2024 edition of the Day 2 feature race was possibly the least expected. Having finished 14½ lengths behind the red-hot favourite El Fabiolo in the Dublin Chase, it looked a tall order for Captain Guinness to turn the tables. However, everything changed when the 2/9 favourite clattered the fifth fence and was pulled up soon after. Only three remained in contention at the second last, with Blackmore and Captain Guinness travelling much the best. The duo had to dig deep on the run-in but held on to score by a length and a half.

Stayers’ Hurdle: Bob Completes the Set

Rachael Blackmore retired at the end of the 2024/25 season, but not before completing the set of Cheltenham Festival feature events. Rachael certainly had the right partner ahead of the 2025 Stayers’ Hurdle, having previously teamed up with Bob Olinger to claim the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle in 2021 and the Turners’ Novices’ Chase in 2022. Having not won over three miles since his point-to-point days, the step up in trip posed a question for the 10-year-old. However, just as she did so often in her career, Blackmore judged the pace to perfection. Hitting the front over the last, Bob Olinger stayed on to master the defending champion Teahupoo.

Rachael Blackmore retired with 18 Cheltenham Festival successes on her CV. Further highlights included two wins in the Ryanair Chase (Allaho in 2021, Envoi Allen in 2023), a Supreme Novices’ Hurdle (Slade Steel in 2024), and an Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle (Minella Indo in 2019). Registering six winners at the 2021 edition, she became the first female to be crowned the top jockey at the Cheltenham Festival.

St James’s Place the Happiest Hunting Ground

As of 2026, 22 of the 28 races at the Cheltenham Festival have been won at least once by a female jockey. Comfortably the happiest hunting ground is the St James’s Place Festival Hunter Chase, commonly referred to as the Foxhunter. In 2020, Maxine O’Sullivan became the ninth different female jockey to win the amateur riders’ race.

The Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase comes next, thanks to the exploits of Nina Carberry, who won four editions of the distinctive contest between 2007 and 2016.

Cheltenham Festival: Leading Female Riders

• 18 Wins – Rachael Blackmore
• 7 Wins – Nina Carberry
• 3 Wins – Katie Walsh
• 2 Wins – Bridget Andrews, Gee Armytage, Bryony Frost, Lizzie Kelly
• 1 Win – Gina Andrews, Caroline Beasley, Polly Curling, Amaryllis Goschen, Fiona Needham, Lisa O’Neill, Maxine O’Sullivan, Katie Rimell, Jody Townend, Harriet Tucker, Lucy Turner

Standout names on the above list include Katie Walsh and Jody Townend, who are the sisters of Ruby Walsh and Paul Townend, respectively. Dual County Hurdle winner Bridget Andrews is the wife of leading rider Harry Skelton and the sister of 2017 Kim Muir winner Gina Andrews, while one of the most popular results came when Bryony Frost won the 2019 Ryanair Chase aboard her favourite horse Frodon.

With the doors opened to female participation, the above ladies have shown they have what it takes to compete on the biggest stage of all. No doubt there will be many more names added to the list of Cheltenham success stories in the years to come.