Tributes for 'brave' Rachael Blackmore after superb career

'I'm delighted she went out on her own terms, she rang me just before she released it and it brought tears to my eyes,' said John 'Shark' Hanlon

Tributes have flooded in for Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning jockey Rachael Blackmore who has announced her retirement. Picture: David Davies/The Jockey Club/PA 

Shark Hanlon provided Rachael Blackmore with her very first winner back in 2011 and paid tribute to the ground-breaking jockey who announced her immediate retirement on Monday.

When Stowaway Peal won at Thurles in February that year, few could have predicted Blackmore would go on to count the Cheltenham Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle and Grand National among her big-race wins, although Hanlon never doubted her courage in the saddle.