Women jockeys on the racing industry: ‘Of course, we’ve progressed. But where are the rest of the girls?’Half a century after first Cheltenham win, Mouse Morris pursues more Gold Cup glory
“I did everything I could to try to break into it. I moved to England because there were more opportunities. And, yeah, I had my big days and my big winners, but I knew there were situations where I was pushed aside because I was a female. I saw it daily, weekly. Nobody is ever going to say that to you. But then you start to believe, ‘Maybe I’m not good enough?’
“But for a girl the obstacles are left, right and centre. If a lad gives a horse a bad ride he’s just given it a bad ride. If a girl gives a horse a bad ride it’s a much bigger deal. ‘She wasn’t strong enough,’ you know, there’s always handy excuses that people can pull out of the sky. I don’t think it’s fair, because girls have proved themselves time and again to be as good as guys. People like to glorify how far racing has come, but Rachael is the exception, not the rule.
“The lads were saying, ‘Win a Gold Cup or a Grand National,’” says O’Connor, “and the girls were saying, ‘Get my license, have a ride.’ Their ambitions tended to be lower. Jockeys Evanna McCutcheon, Rachael Blackmore, Katie O'Farrell and Aine O'Connor walking the course before the Macari's Of Kildare Ladies Derby Handicap in 2014. Photograph: Morgan Treacy/Inpho
Maxine O'Sullivan after winning the Philip O'Connor Memorial, Lifetime Friend Of Fairyhouse Handicap Hurdle in 2023. Photograph: Peter Mooney/ Inpho “I never found, in all my years, anyone having a problem with me for being a girl,” says O’Sullivan. “I found they had a problem with me because I didn’t give a horse a good ride – which I would have known myself. I know my qualities and I know my weaknesses. If you’re good enough there’s never been an issue with me that I can see.