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Rachael Blackmore has paid the ultimate tribute to Minella Times who, after suffering a setback in preparation, was retired on Tuesday by his trainer Henry de Bromhead.

Minella Times was an icon of jump racing, providing Blackmore with her "best day in racing" two years ago when winning the Grand National to become the first female rider to do so. The JP McManus-owned horse jumped from fence to fence beautifully, and the luck was certainly on their side.

Blackmore was glowing in her praise of Minella Times and remarked on the day of the famous Aintree victory that it "was such an incredible day" and how grateful she is for the horse. De Bromhead  had also hoped for a second crack at the Grand National for the ten-year-old, who last ran in January in a cross-country chase at Cheltenham, but unfortunately it was not to be. But de Bromhead will never forget that day at Aintree and the other successes they experienced in the same Spring.

The Champion Hurdle fell to Honeysuckle, the Champion Chase to Put The Kettle On, and they claimed the top two places in the Gold Cup with Minella Indo leading over the line A Plus Tard. Minella Times retires with four wins in his 26 starts, earning close to £500,000 in prize-money.

With fond memories of the racehorse, Blackmore can look back on the iconic day with only awe and admiration for the horse that provided her with her "best day in racing".