Grand National winner Rachael Blackmore suffered a nasty fall in the Grade 1 Juvenile Hurdle at Aintree on Thursday.
Blackmore was riding Willy De Houelle for Willie Mullins in the second race of the afternoon.
Reports differed on the 35-year-old’s condition immediately after the incident, with Racing TV claiming she was attended to on the track. Sadly her mount, Willy De Houelle, suffered fatal injuries.
ITV later updated viewers on the 2021 Grand National winner’s health and confirmed that she had walked into an ambulance.
‘Rachael Blackmore walked into the ambulance, looked pretty sore doing so,’ presenter Ed Chamberlin said: ‘Hopefully she will be okay. News on her horse as soon as we get it.’
Blackmore only recently returned from a serious neck injury at the end of December after missing several months of the season. She enjoyed a superb Cheltenham festival, claiming two wins on Bob Olinger and Air Of Entitlement.
Animal charity Animal Aid called for a ban on jump racing following the death of Willy De Houelle. The four-year-old rode in the JCB Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham last month, finishing 11th out of 17 starters.
The statement read: ‘Willy De Houelle, just four years old, was killed in the second race today after suffering a horrific fall. The death toll of this event is now 66 horses killed since 2000.
‘The Grand National three-day meeting is lethal for horses – who have no choice but to run for their lives on a racecourse designed to push them to their limits.
‘Furthermore, National Hunt or ‘jump’ racing has killed more than 3,000 horses since 2001. This is why we are calling for a ban on jump racing, with the cruel Cheltenham and Aintree festivals being the first to go.’
Blackmore is due to ride Minella Indo on Saturday as she attempts to add to her success at Aintree four years ago.
She rode The Folkes Tiara in the 4:40 and finished fifth on St Jessica in the closing 5.15 on Thursday.
Blackmore’s achievements have seen her awarded with an honorary MBE, and was also crowned the BBC Sports Personality World Sport Star of the Year.
It came after she made history by becoming the first female jockey to clinch the Grand National.