After a simply sensational month in the saddle, which included claiming the leading jockey title at the Cheltenham Festival and a breakthrough win for female jockeys in the Grand National, Rachael Blackmore will now set her sights on becoming champion jockey in Ireland.

The perennial groundbreaker trails current champion Paul Townend by 10 wins (at the time of writing), but with Willie Mullins’ stable jockey out of action for an as yet unknown length of time due to a foot injury, Blackmore has time to erode the deficit heading into the season finale at Punchestown at the end of the month.

If Townend fails to return, the 31-year-old Tipperary native has a fantastic chance to break yet more ground by becoming the first woman to win the championship.

But whatever happens, she will always be a Grand National-winning rider after a brilliant success on Henry de Bromhead’s Minella Times.

She never looked out of position on the eight-year-old, saving ground on the inside and when she got her mount into contention on the second circuit, there was a near sense of inevitability about the result given her and de Bromhead’s recent run of success.

The win has transcended the sport, with Blackmore’s delighted face splashed across the Sunday newspapers and the RTÉ News cameras showing up to her parents’ house on Sunday evening. Indeed, Blackmore is now seen as a shoe-in for the RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year award and we’re not even through April.

Blackmore’s success has sparked what could well be a linchpin moment for female jockeys in the sport and her quotes after the race were telling, the pick of which was: “I didn’t dream about making a career as a jockey because I didn’t think it could happen.

“Keep your dreams big, that’s the inspiration I have for you.”