Blackmore and Flanagan the real heroes of a glorious decade in Irish racing

Rachael Blackmore is Irish racing's woman of the decade, while Sean Flanagan scoops the men's award. These ten-year accolades are a game of opinions and those are mine.

Most readers will agree with Blackmore. Her first winner was in February of 2011 on a horse called Stowaway Pearl who had form figures of 000080. It was an unlikely victory and everything that has followed has been unlikely too.

She only had 11 point-to-point winners and seven on the track when she chose to turn professional in 2015. In less than five years she has become the most successful female jump jockey of all time. She became the second woman to ride a Grade 1 winner over jumps at Cheltenham in March when Minella Indo won the Albert Bartlett, three days after her first festival success on A Plus Tard.