McNamara retires with fairytale winner

Retiring Andrew McNamara treated racegoers at Tramore today to a perfect result and a fairytale ending to his career as a jockey when steering bargain-basement purchase Most Honourable to win the Midge Nolan Memorial Handicap Hurdle, on his last ride.

McNamara's 15 year riding career yielded wins in many of Ireland's biggest races including the Irish Grand National, Hennessy Gold Cup, Irish Champion Hurdle, Galway Plate and Punchestown's Champion Chase while also famously landing the 2006 Champion Chase on Newmill.

Today riding the Shark Hanlon trained Most Honourable on his final ride, McNamara received a guard-of-honour from his fellow jockeys before taking the ride.

Most Honourable, an inspired 600BGP purchase by Hanlon last June, raced prominently throughout and having improved to lead at the second last, McNamara's mount kept just about everyone in attendance happy by maintaining his gallop to the line, for a half length win over Luimneach Abu

McNamara was greeted by three-cheers in the winners' enclosure and afterwards an emotional Hanlon revealed "he only cost 600 quid eight weeks ago so they all don't have to cost 100,000 grand!"

He added "I'm delighted to be able to do it for Andrew; he said to me two or three weeks ago that he was going to retire so I said I'd 'I'll have to give you a winner' and I'm just thrilled to be able to do it for him!

"Andrew rode my first winner which cost 600 quid and now he's going out on his last winner which also only cost 600 quid. Andrew has been a very good friend of mine over the years and it's great to be able to do it for him tonight."

McNamara, who now has his eyes set on a training career, himself stated "I've had a brilliant time, I've absolutely loved it. I've had a good few winners here at Tramore as well, it was always good to me.

"Going down to the start I was just looking forward to it - I didn't think he was any good-thing so there wasn't any major pressure on.

"I rang the Shark about two weeks ago and I told him I was going to finish up. He told me not to do anything too quick and that he'd find me a winner but looking at the form figures coming down (today) I wasn't too sure but he got the job done anyway!"

Regarding his future, McNamara added "as long as I've been riding I've been keeping an eye on the training side of things and I'd love to give it a go. Everyone who is training tells me it's a very hard job and not as easy as the riding but I'll give it a shot anyway.

"We bought a horse at the sales this week and we got a couple more earlier in the summer so we have a few to kick on with."

By Tom Weekes, quotes from Donal Murphy