HRH Camilla met racing royalty Rachael Blackmore – known as the ‘Queen of Cheltenham’ – in the parade ring in front of a crowd packed with women
Two Queens united in celebration as Ladies Day returned to Cheltenham ‘with a bang’.
HRH Camilla met racing royalty Rachael Blackmore – known as the ‘Queen of Cheltenham’ – in the parade ring in front of a crowd packed with women.
The pair kicked off the party to toast the comeback of the traditional racing style-fest axed seven years ago when bosses decided to simply number the days instead.
Rachael, 36, the only woman jockey to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup and Aintree’s Grand National, rode 18 winners at the festival in a trophy-laden racing career.
After retiring last year she agreed to become the face of Ladies Day to boost the number of female fans.
And she delivered another winner with yesterday’s attendance 10.5% up on last year’s – with 33% of the crowd female compared to 25% previously.
Women rolled up at the racecourse to receive free glasses of bubbly and the chance to win prizes worth £10,000 at the festival’s style awards – plus a free trip to Las Vegas.
Rachael said: “It’s incredible, amazing.
“This whole place has been turned into a massive ladies’ hub. It’s really cool.
“It’s really positive and it’s a great day.
“You’re very much in your racing bubble when you’re a jockey so it’s very interesting for me to hear what life is like outside the weighing room.
“I think Cheltenham has really taken steps to make this a really inclusive festival for everyone and Ladies Day is back with a bang this year for sure.”
The Queen was also greeted by another trailblazing jockey Aamilah Aswat – who became the first black woman to win a jump race in Britain at Kempton Park last month.
Her horse Guchen was owned by the Friends of Ebony Horse Club, a charity and community riding centre based in Brixton, south London, which Camilla supports as president that uses horse riding to transform the lives of disadvantaged young people.
After meeting Camilla, Aamilah said: “I said how it was an honour to win, especially twice in her colours, and she said it was a ‘pleasure’.”
The Princess Royal and Camilla’s ex-husband Andrew Parker-Bowles were among the c crowd.
The Princess of Wales’s mum Carole Middleton posed for a picture with Mike and Zara Tindall and TV star James Nesbitt.
Camilla, who is patron of the Jockey Club, also met Natasha Hunt and Zoe Aldcroft – members of England’s Women’s Rugby World Cup winning team.
jerry.lawton@dailystar.co.uk
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