"National Velvet," my arse

[Bob Jersey]

Over 76 years after the release of that MGM chestnut now owned by Warners...

...and over ten years after the passing of Elizabeth Taylor...

...a real-life woman, Rachael Blackmore from County Tipperary, Ireland, becomes the first woman to win the Grand National steeplechase.

"Riding on the 11-1 shot Minella Times, [she] delivered a perfect race, biding her time early on before gradually creeping up into contention as the race entered its second circuit. 

Riding on the eight-year-old, [they] took the lead with two to go before galloping clear to win by a resounding six lengths."

https://www.irishpost.com/news/irish-jockey-rachael-blackmore-makes-history-by-becoming-first-woman-to-ride-winner-in-grand-national-209046 (link)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tDR_OXfpNQ (video from user Racing TV)

B

[Adam Bowie]

This is *the* sports story of the weekend in the UK. For those who don't know, the Grand National is the biggest horse race of the year in the UK - think the Kentucky Derby, except on turf and over [big] jumps. It's a race that non-horse racing public watch and bet on, or have office sweepstakes over.

So yes - the first woman to win is a big deal. Although Blackmore herself tries to not play up the "woman" thing and talks about herself as a jockey.

I did watch this yesterday in a nearly empty Aintree racecourse. I'm not a horse racing fan, and I know it's a cruel sport (another horse in the race yesterday had to be put down when it was injured in a fall). But it's undoubtedly a spectacle and the sort of race that they make movies about. 

Adam

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