Tipperary's Rachel Blackmore to ride in Royal Ascot

Tipperary's star jockey Rachel Blackmore will move from national hunt racing to the flat today (Tuesday, June 15) when she competes in the Ascot Stakes on the first day of the Royal Ascot race meeting in England.

The Killenaule woman will ride Cape Gentleman trained by Emmet Mullins in the race that starts at 5pm.

Rachel made history earlier this year by becoming the first female jockey to win the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and the Aintree Grand National. While she is more associated with national hunt racing, she secured a listed win in a flat race when she rode Mullins' Oriental Eagle in the Martin Molony Stakes at Limerick last year.

A civic reception Tipperary County Council planned to host in her honour this evening has been postponed for a week due to her racing commitment at Royal Ascot.