Ruby Walsh: Farewell Andrew McNamara, a gentleman of the racing world
Trainer Andrew McNamara was laid to rest on Friday. Picture: Healy Racing
Yesterday afternoon a gentleman of the racing world was laid to rest in the grounds of Manister church. Andrew McNamara was a man I was lucky enough to have ridden winners for, but the trainer was only a part of who the man was.
My association with him professionally ended when his sons, Andrew and Robert, were old enough to do the job. Still, I only ever rode what his nephew John Thomas couldnât ride before them anyway. Blood is thicker than water, and Andrew senior was proud of the three men he helped so much.
He was undoubtedly a significant influence on their careers, and they all achieved great success, but he was a husband, father, uncle, grandfather, and vet as well. Many people knew him better than me, but he made you feel like you knew him well.
He was always very kind and was never a person I avoided when I saw him in the distance. His conversation was always topical and his manners impeccable. A soft hello to start the chat would move to whatever had gone right or wrong for you. It was never about him and was always finished with âtell Gillian and your Mom I was asking for themâ.
Rest in Peace, Andrew. Your presence at any meeting worth attending will be missed and tell JT I was asking for him.
On the track, last weekend was a belter for National Hunt fans. We were served up a cracking renewal of the Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal, where Frodon held off Galvin in a cracking finish. We also witnessed two polar-opposite yet equally efficient rides from Bryony Frost and Jamie Codd. Both executed pace fractions differently but delivered their mounts at full speed approaching the last fence. Long may the tactical nature of Irish jumping racing live because it is intriguing to watch.
Bryony slowed and increased the speed at various stages to draw her rivals into a scrap while Jamie nursed Galvin into contention, ignoring Frodon until he had to try and win the race. Watching unscripted sport where people think on the spot is always a joy.
Envoi Allen showed us he is alive and well, but the man who found it the hardest to watch, Gordon Elliot, roared through the weekend with eight winners. Shan Blue may have fallen at Wetherby in the Charlie Hall, but he also showed us how much talent he could have.
On the downside, Vinndication and Cyrname blew their lines, but good things donât last forever, and that sort of feels the way today and tomorrow are compared to last weekend. Perhaps thatâs just me, but as I scanned through the weekend action at Aintree, Wincanton, Naas and Navan, I found a sprinkling of races I would like to watch but none I donât want to miss.
The Fishery Lane Hurdle is the classic example with the Triumph Hurdle winner Quilixios squaring off against the Fred Winter winner Jeff Kidder. Jeff did, of course, win this battle at Punchestown, but outside of Honeysuckle, Henry De Bromheadâs stars didnât exactly sparkle at that festival, so today has to be looked at as a fresh start for Quilixios.
Add in how hard a year it can be for four-year-olds as they take on the older championship horses, and todayâs race becomes a watching brief as you dissect these two horsesâ chances of competing when the options to race against their own generation disappear.
Thatâs todayâs theme: it is a learning day. Will any of those in the Poplar Square Chase improve enough to compete with the Grade 1 horses? They have what we term in racing as ratings in no manâs land â too high for handicaps and too low for the top level. Caught. This is where the art of training comes to the fore and finding opportunities for those horses is a skill.
I think Peter Fahey has done so with Belfast Banter today at Wincanton in the Elite Hurdle. According to ratings, he canât beat Sceau Royal or Goshen. Still, Goshen goes hard upfront and could be vulnerable fitness-wise, and Sceau Royal loves a slow tactical race so the stars could align for Belfast Banter, who is race-fit and loves to come at horses off a strong gallop. Winning a Grade 2 with him in open company would be a job well done.
In terms of educating ourselves for the future, Goshen is the one to watch but if he does blow this race apart, just remember he did that here last February and file
him under âtalented but
unpredictableâ.
Bravemansgame is the other horse to watch at Wincanton in the Rising Stars Novice Chase. He should win and most likely will before heading on to stiffer assignments, but he is the potential star running on the card.
A long way north, at Aintree, Time To Get Up is looking at the National course in the Grand Sefton, but one has to think the April showpiece will be his target and having won the Midlands National at Uttoxeter in March, stamina is his forte. Watch how he jumps and travels, but donât worry if he doesnât win. A place at this trip will do, and the expected minor penalty from that would suffice to get him into the main event. Put a reminder in your calendar for April 9.
At Navan on Sunday, Chemical Energy takes on My Mate Mozzie in the For Auction Novice Hurdle, Notebook faces off with Samcro in the Fortria and Flooring Porter is reunited with Danny Mullins in the Lismullen. Itâs a decent card, but were I put in a place in which I had to choose just the one meeting to watch all weekend, it would be tonight and on the Flat.
Del Mar is where the surf meets the turf, and Colin Keane and Dermot Weld can take centre stage with Tarnawa a little before midnight in the Breedersâ Cup Turf. Del Mar is a tight circuit with a short straight, and there will be plenty of fast-finishing, hard-luck stories tonight. I hope Tarnawa wonât be one of those, but it was great to see the number of Irish trainers and jockeys involved there over the two days. Best of luck to them and roll on next weekend.
