Rachel Rennie wins Newmarket Town Plate after amazing comeback from cancer

Rachel Rennie was on cloud nine after winning the Newmarket Town Plate aboard Friends Don't Ask on Saturday – five years after a breast cancer diagnosis ruled her out of the historic contest.

The amateur rider, who works for trainer Martin Smith, was due to take part in 2016 but noticed a small lump on her chest one month before the race, which doctors confirmed was breast cancer.

After recovering from surgery, eight rounds of chemotherapy and 20 rounds of radiotherapy – as well as "ten years' worth of tablets" – she fulfilled her dream of riding in the race, first staged in 1666.

"I think we'll hit up Newmarket town to celebrate!" said Rennie, amid emotional scenes in the winner's enclosure. "It has to be one of the highlights of my life. I’m probably going to have about 100 WhatsApp messages on my phone – the whole thing has been very special.

The 49-year-old, who hopes to defend her title next season, is even considering taking out an amateur jockey's licence, and she said: "I'm just amazed I managed to get back from cancer and get fit.

"I’m just glad to be here to do it and maybe I’ll be back again next year. There was a little bit of me thinking back to five years ago as this was the culmination of the getting-back progress. It was the one thing I didn’t get to do then that I have now. I could hear people shouting at me, which I didn't think I'd be able to with the crowd.

"It's slightly tempting to go for the amateur licence as I’ve got a couple of horses I could ride on the Flat. It's just a case of it being a full-time effort rather than just a three-month effort."

Friends Don't Ask raced prominently before surging into the lead with three furlongs to travel and battling hard to deny Stripe Of Honour.

Rachel Rennie: scored at Newmarket aboard Friends Don't Ask

"I pulled him out and he took off," said Rennie. "I thought I was going to get caught again at the end. I just had enough energy to push him out a bit, and managed not to fall off. I was wondering where the line was when I took the lead, and I was glad to see it coming."

After the race Rennie was presented with the Golding Perpetual Challenge Plate, a silver photograph frame, a £125 Golding voucher and a box of Powters' celebrated Newmarket Sausages.

"The yard had the eyes on the prize of the sausages and they wouldn’t have been happy with anything else," she joked. "I’ve had people shouting at me across the gallops in Newmarket all week.

"The lads talk to each other and they asked which one is the Town Plate horse when we were out. They were telling them, 'This is the Town Plate winner' on Friday, and I thought, 'Oh God, do you have to?'"

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