29 October 2009 Rachel Clark Retires
by Carolyn Tanner
RACHEL CLARK: aboard her final winner Banners Flying at Charm Park in 2008
photo: Jon Hodd
Yorkshire rider Rachel Clark, who rode with success under Rules as well as between the flags, has hung up her boots.
Rachel and her fiancé Barry Andrews, who tie the knot in June, have just bought a house, and bearing in mind her continual problems with a dislocated shoulder in the past two seasons, she pointed out, "We've got a mortgage to pay so I can't afford to get injured and not be working."
She did achieve her main Pointing ambition, a very modest one compared to all the riders whose only target is one of the Foxhunter Chases. "I always wanted to win my Hunt race [the York & Ainsty], and I've done that" she explained. The coveted victory came in 2004 on David Jones's Claire's Nomad, trained by her mother Liz.
There will be no let-up in her involvement with racing, however, as she will continue to have horses for pre-training as well as helping and riding out at different yards, including that of her cousin Ruth Carr.
