Cheltenham Festival: First woman finisher Gillian Fortescue-Thomas looks back on her day in 1976

However, her extensive pre-race work did not go according to plan.

Struggling with the hype surrounding the festival, Stanhope Street almost came to its feet after one circuit.

“It was a very embarrassing race for me,” Fortescue-Thomas said.

“Stanhope Street was a complete failure. He won two points to one but came back with the white bars and with all the noise and dust he didn’t enjoy it. We were turned away after the first circuit.

“I sat very patiently feeling like a complete fool, looking like a fool, feeling like a fool, and I was about to drag him up the hill.

“I thought if I got out of it and drove it home, people would realize something was wrong, and I might not get criticism from those who invested their money.

“But I got to the top of the hill and tried again to encourage him and suddenly he said ‘Okay!’

“What was awkward at first became almost more embarrassing as all the horses were overtaken and we ended up overtaking everything at a rate of knots.”

They did not catch winner Mickey Seabright but outran all else to fly up the hill and finish second by 12 lengths as Fortescue-Thomas became the first woman to finish at the Festival.

Timeform, the bible of racing form, said the horse appeared to have been “given a lot to do” but noted that Fortescue-Thomas’ thoughtful riding may have made “some contribution” to his return to form in 1976.

“Eventually, there was a guy who saw me walking down the track [beforehand] He said, ‘Well, honey, you just follow the others, right?'” Fortescue-Thomas recalled.

It will be the women who followed Fortescue-Thomas, and those who will continue to do so in the future, who owe her an even greater debt of gratitude.