Racheal Kneller

Flat jockey Racheal Kneller rode 47 domestic winners in her 13-year career before her enforced retirement at the age of 34. Her highlight came when winning the John Guest Handicap at Ascot in 2012 on the Mark Usher-trained Best Be Careful

She was twice crowned champion lady jockey on the Arab racing circuit, and rode in a race on the packed snow at St Moritz.

She also made headlines on November 12, 2019 when answering a call on Twitter to take a spare ride that afternoon on Ruacana for Zoe Davison in the annual hurdle race for professional Flat jockeys at Lingfield Park. Racheal not only took the mount – she won the race. Ruacana, who was retired in March 2021, now lives with her.

Ruacana turned out to be her last winner. She had her final race-ride when finishing seventh on Mood For Mischief at Chelmsford on February 22, 2020.

Later that month, she was badly concussed in a fall on the gallops that eventually brought about her premature retirement. She had remained hopeful of making a comeback but, in May 2021, having been out of action for over a year, she was advised not to continue due to the long-lasting impact of the concussion she had suffered, which had not improved, amid fears the damage may be permanent.

Announcing her retirement, she told the Racing Post: “I’ve been monitoring my progress and have been having regular concussion tests. I wasn’t seeing much improvement, so I saw a specialist who said he couldn’t believe I wasn’t in a coma when it happened – that’s how serious it was. He told me I needed to be 100 per cent to ride and he pointed out that I’m not how I should be. I’d been off for a year and knew I needed to make a decision.”