McNamara transferred to Dublin hospital

JT McNamara, the jockey left paralysed after a fall at the Cheltenham Festival, has been transferred to a hospital in Dublin.

McNamara, who fractured two vertebrae when Galaxy Rock fell in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup, had been treated in Frenchay Hospital, Bristol, since March, but on Sunday moved to the National Spinal Unit of the Mater Hospital.

Irish Turf Club senior medical officer Dr Adrian McGoldrick and and Lisa Hancock, chief executive of the Injured Jockeys Fund, issued a joint-statement on behalf of McNamara’s family, which read: “We wish to express sincere thanks to all the personnel involved in his safe transfer.

“We will forever be indebted to the staff at Frenchay Hospital for the fantastic care he has received there since his injury.

“John Thomas is looking forward to the next phase of his treatment and rehabilitation in Ireland.

“We thank everyone for their ongoing support and prayers and ask people please to continue to respect our privacy.”