Two in 24 hours for Siobhan Rutledge

Asbourne woman Siobhan Rutledge continues to make steady progress in her bid to make an impact in what is the ultra-competitive sport of horseracing with two winners in less than 24 hours.

Last night at Dundalk she was on the mark and this afternoon at Limerick she was in the winners' enclosure again for her seventh career winner after recording her first winner at Navan scarcely 12 months ago.

At the Louth track she partnered the aptly-named Dame Rapide to a second win at the venue in the space of three weeks.

Rutledge was repeating her course and distance win of last month when Dame Rapide was a 20/1 outsider, but last night was returned at 11/2 and won well for the Meath woman from 15/8 favourite Time And Money in an apprentice handicap.

“I’m just so happy for Siobhan, she works so hard at it and I hope other people take notice,” commented trainer John McConnell.

The winning form continued today at Limerick when Rutledge, a daughter of the late Ger Rutledge who was an amateur jockey and trained point to pointers, was on board another McConnell-trained winner.

At the Munster track she got Max's Dandy home by a nose from Gregory's Gift in a seven-furlong apprentice handicap.

Speaking to the Meath Chronicle earlier this year, Siobhan outlined the background to her interest in racing.

"My dad always encouraged me and my twin brother and we had a little black Welsh pony and a donkey that I would ride up the field in the evenings after school," she remarked.

"I also took some riding lessons when I got older and that helped me get the basics, but I gave up the lessons because the horses were not fast enough!

"After saving some money I got a Connemara pony and did a few local pony races, it didn’t amount to much more than a fun day out for the family," she added.

Following completion of the junior certificate, Siobhan spent transition year at the Racing Academy and Centre of Education (RACE), a training school for aspiring young jockeys outside Kildare town.

She followed that with a work experience placement with former champion jockey and now successful trainer, and a Meath man, Johnny Murtagh, but she also was inspired by women like Nina Carberry and Katie Walsh.

"I used to look up to Nina Carberry and Katie Walsh, in our house we would always have watched jump racing and especially the Grand National, this would have been when I was six or seven with my dad," she said.

"I was always cheering for whatever Nina and Katie were riding.

"And I would be the one waiting for them after racing to get autographs.

"Anway, I decided I’d apply for a place at RACE, but never in a million years did I think I’d be accepted.

"I headed down for the trial (July 2014) hoping for the best, I loved my week down in RACE and knew then that it was the place to be if I could get in.

"The acceptance letter came three days before my 16th birthday, I nearly couldn't believe it," she remarked.

Siobhan landed her first winner when partnering the John McConnell-trained Magi Gall to victory at Navan in September 2019.