RACHAEL Blackmore is not the only woman making racing history this month. Last Saturday at the Curragh Lynne McLoughlin became Ireland’s first female stalls handler.

From a non-racing family in Baltinglass in Co Wicklow, Lynne has made a habit of appearing in the pages of The Irish Field, ever since she graduated from the Irish National Stud’s Thoroughbred Breeding Course in 2015.

Since then Lynne has come through the ITBA’s apprenticeship programme, worked for some of the best trainers in Ireland, put in a stint in Australia, and she also won the Corinthian Challenge in 2017.

She currently works for trainer Conor O’Dwyer and says her boss was among those who encouraged her to join the starting stalls team when the opportunity arose. “A big thank you to Conor for letting me do it. A lot of employers would insist you only worked for them.”

Lynne knew a few members of the stalls team from her work in racing. “My cousin Rory Nolan has worked on the starting stalls for five years and, from my time with Dermot Weld, I knew Paddy and Danny McLoughlin, and John Wixted, who did it too. They all encouraged me to send in my CV to Horse Racing Ireland last summer.”

HRI weren’t recruiting at the time and Lynne forgot all about her application until she received a phone call a few weeks ago from Pat Brennan, Racing Services Manager with HRI. “He called me for an interview and last week I was offered a contract for the summer months.”

Lynne feels her extensive experience in racing stood to her. “When I worked in Australia I got experience doing barrier trials, which is nearly the same as a raceday. I also did plenty of stalls work when I worked for Jim Bolger and Jessica Harrington, so I have always been comfortable doing that kind of work.”

Saturday at the Curragh was Lynne’s first day on the job here. “It seemed to go well and I think the lads were happy with me. I don’t think the public realise how good they are at their job.

“They are so well organised. We had a couple of tricky ones on Saturday and the handlers were straight in there to get the jockey out and the horse settled. They are class lads.”