AP McCoy: JT McNamara was ‘as good as I have ever seen or will see’

Yesterday morning the racing world woke to the sad news that John Thomas McNamara had passed away. The 41-year-old former leading amateur, who suffered a horrific fall from Galaxy Rock in the Kim Muir Challenge Cup at the Cheltenham Festival of 2013, lost the one battle he could never win.

Five times champion point to point rider, and generally acknowledged and accepted as one of the finest riders – amateur or professional - to ever grace a track, he was paralysed from the neck down in that first-fence fall at the Cheltenham Festival, but battled bravely for life for the past three and a half years.

His career in the saddle yielded more than 600 winners, and he enjoyed four winners at the Cheltenham Festival: Rith Dubh, Spot Thedifference, Drombeag and Teaforthree. His association with JP McManus spanned his career and life, and his partnership with the owner’s Spot Thedifference endured seven seasons, and yielded 11 victories, seven of which were on the cross-country course at Cheltenham.