Rachael Blackmore secured her first win since her return from injury on Sunday during a busy Christmas period for the Killenaule, Co Tipperary jockey.

Blackmore was sidelined with a neck injury for three months after falling from Hand Over Fist at Downpatrick in September, but she has made up for lost time with 12 races at Leopardstown since St Stephen's Day.

Most notably, she rode Judy Flower to victory in the Beat The Bank.ie Irish EBF Mares Hurdle, and she expressed relief at getting back to the winners' enclosure following what she described to RTÉ Television as a "quite serious" injury to her neck.

Speaking to BusinessPlus.ie shortly after her return earlier this month, Blackmore said it hadn't been easy watching on and that she is delighted to have returned to action in time for Christmas racing.

“A lot of people were asking, are you bored? It’s not like that at all, I was in no way bored. There’s so much else going on in life that I had to catch up because racing is essentially all year round.

"We have three of four weeks off in June when there’s a break from jumps racing, but it’s all year round other than that. We have to take an enforced holiday through injury. That's where you can kind of catch up on other things in life.

“So it allowed me to do that. I went to Las Vegas for a week with my friends. That was great, and it allowed me to start thinking about other things, but I'm extremely glad to be back doing what I'm most happy doing now.”

Blackmore similarly spent three months out after breaking her hip and ankle in 2021, which was otherwise a banner year for her.

She became the first female jockey to win the Aintree Grand National and she was the leading jockey at the Cheltenham Festival, winning six races including the Champion Hurdle.

She was later named RTÉ Sports Person of the Year and BBC World Sport Star of the Year for her achievements before becoming the first woman to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2022.

Following her breakthrough, Blackmore became an ambassador for KPMG, and research from the professional services group shows that 61% of people are motivated by the global achievements of Irish women in sport, with 30% taking up sport or exercise more as a result.

Blackmore herself said she is inspired by her fellow KPMG ambassadors, sprinter Rhasidat Adeleke and golfer Leona Maguire, and 85% of respondents said they had been inspired by the trio's achievements.

At a launch event for the KPMG research, she chatted with the Adeleke and Maguire about their training regimes over Christmas.

"You are very inspired by their dedication to what they're trying to achieve, and it does kind of spur you on and just encourage you," she said.

However, the constant grind of jump racing means it is difficult for Blackmore to make any long-term goals or plans beyond winning the next race, and she certainly hasn't thought about what she'll do in retirement.

“For me, I’m living a life now that I never even dreamt could be possible, like I'm making a career out of being a jockey, and thankfully it has been a success, albeit it took a long time to get there," she said.

“I think I’m so consumed by that bubble of being a jockey that I haven’t thought about life in the real world yet. I’m sure that day will come.

"It comes for every jockey, you’re just hoping you get to decide when they day comes. I feel like I’ll figure out the rest when it happens.“

She expects to ride until she is in her early 40s much like legendary jockeys Barry Geraghty and Ruby Walsh, but she's focused on the present, and she says she's not even thinking about Cheltenham, which takes place in March.

“Maybe I should be putting things in place for when I finish, so that there’s something ready and set up, but I just don’t want to do that now," Blackmore said.

“I just want to live the life I have now because I feel so lucky to be in the position I'm in, getting to ride the horses I get to ride. I don’t want my brain to be thinking about anything that’s down the line, I very much live day to day. I’m focused on the next day’s racing, trying to ride a winner there, then the next day.

"You’re going to have a whole other career after riding as a jump jockey, and so I feel there’ll be time for me to think about what’s going to happen. I just think you have to have that tunnel vision."

She certainly hasn't been peppering trainer Henry de Bromhead, for whom she is a stable jockey, with questions about moving into horse training after she eventually hangs up her breeches.

"If I went speaking to Henry about my plans for when I finish riding, he’s going to think I’m finished riding, and that’s not something that’s in my brain at the moment," she states matter of factly. “I can’t ever see myself training on a scale like Henry does, or anything close to that."

Figures from the Racing Post show that since 2020, horses ridden by Blackmore have won nearly €11m in prize money in jumps and flat races in Ireland and the UK, and accounts for her company, Rachael Blackmore Racing, set up on advice from her accountant, show focusing on the short term has proven fruitful.

The firm had cash reserves of approximately €895,000 at the end of 2022 before it was re-registered as an unlimited company. Rachael Blackmore Racing, which is wholly owned by the 35-year-old, had accumulated profits of €974,000 at the end of 2022.

In addition to KPMG, she also has sponsorships with Dornan Engineering, STATSports, the Jockey Club, and Boodles.

Horse racing more generally is massive business, and Blackmore is adamant about the importance of the industry, which will be supported by a €79.3m State subsidy in 2025, to the Irish economy.

“Ireland’s global position in horse racing is definitely the envy of so many other countries. It’s a massive employer in Ireland. It’s worth €2.5bn to the economy every year," she said.

"There’s 30,000 people employed through the breeding and racing industry every year, so it’s massive for rural employment and it’s part of Ireland’s heritage, we’re extremely good at it.

"You go to Dubai, you go to America, and the Irish names are winners over there, so Ireland is very dominant, and it’s a great place to be if you’re a jockey."

Female jockeys, however, remain a minority in the field despite a 40% increase in the number of licensed female jockeys in 2021, credited to Blackmore's trailblazing success.

Blackmore herself concedes it might take "a little bit longer" for greater gender balance in the starting gate, but she is constantly meeting young girls and boys who aspire to become jockeys.

"It’s wonderful to see," she said. "It's a privilege to be that person who they who they want to say hello to.”

Photo: Rachael Blackmore. (Pic: INPHO/Ben Brady)