22-year-old Robbie McNamara has quickly become established as one of the leading amateur riders in Ireland, despite Mother Nature doing her best to make things difficult for him by bestowing him with a 6’ 2” frame. Robbie is a member of a well-known racing family, with his father Andrew Senior being one of the veterans of the training ranks who has enjoyed Cheltenham Festival success in the past with Boreen Prince, while Robbie's older brother Andrew is one of the country's top National Hunt jockeys.
Principal Trainers: Dermot Weld
Notable Wins:
- Paddy Power Chase (Majestic Concorde 2010)
- Paddy Power Champion INH Flat Race (Hidden Universe 2010)
- Ladbrokes Cheltenham Bumper Series Future Champions Flat Race (Drumbaloo 2009)
- carlton.ie/galwaycity Handicap (Ghimaar 2009, Majestic Concorde 2008)
A Promising Career Begins
Just as his older brother Andrew was beginning to make a big impression on the Irish National Hunt scene, Robbie McNamara had his first ride in public on his father’s Stress Test in a bumper at Cork in November 2004. Success didn’t come to him quickly, as he had to wait for the better part of a year until getting off the mark on his father’s Glenquin Castle in a bumper at the Listowel Harvest Festival the following September. He soon doubled his tally, riding the same horse to success in a bumper at Galway the following month. Three weeks later he gained his first win over hurdles on the John Murphy-trained Lala Nova in a handicap hurdle at Cork and while he gained just one more win that season, 2006/7 would see him makes significant increases on all fronts.
A Successful Association Is Born
It was during the 2006 Flat season that McNamara first rode for Dermot Weld, with him riding Le Leopard to two successes in qualified riders’ contests in August. November 12th 2006 was a notable date for McNamara, as it saw him complete his first-ever double at his local track Limerick by riding the Eric McNamara-trained Glengali to win a handicap hurdle and the John Kiely-trained Shuil A Hocht to success in a bumper. Following his successes for him on the Flat, McNamara soon found himself coming in for rides on Dermot Weld-trained horses over jumps too, with him riding Stolen Light, Cosmic String and Bobs Pride to success over hurdles for the Curragh trainer during that season.
2007/8 saw McNamara closely match his wins/prize money totals from the previous season and while he didn’t enjoy any big-race successes during that term, he did further solidify his link with the Dermot Weld stable, with him riding no less than five individual winners for the Master of Rosewell House.
Weld Connection Bears Sweet Fruit
As an amateur that rides on the Flat, there is one race that stands out above all others in the racing calendar and it is the carlton.ie/galwaycity Handicap (formerly known as the GPT Handicap) at the Galway Festival. McNamara has been no different in his enthusiastic pursuit of the substantial prize on offer for that contest and he has enjoyed remarkable success in it in recent years courtesy of his association with the King Of Ballybrit, Dermot Weld. Together, the pairing have claimed two recent renewals of the race, namely with Majestic Concorde in 2008 and Ghimaar in 2009.
In between those two memorable wins, Weld and McNamara combined for many notable wins in the National Hunt sphere, with them teaming up for no less than 10 wins during the 2008/9 season including with Universal Truth on three occasions, including a valuable bumper at Limerick in April. Perhaps his most significant partnership that season was with the Weld-trained Rite Of Passage, with him riding the son of Giant’s Causeway to two impressive wins in bumpers and that horse would form the centre piece of what would be his best season yet in 2009/10.
From Promising Youngster To Big-Race Contender
2009/10 saw McNamara lift his performance to all new levels. He was utilised at a higher level and rose to the challenge admirably. He gained his first Graded race success in the Grade 2 Ladbrokes Cheltenham Bumper Series Future Champions Flat Race at Navan on the Jim Lambe-trained Drumbaloo and again, Dermot Weld showed how highly he rated McNamara by putting him up on the vast majority of his National Hunt horses. This resulted in wins on the likes of New Phase, Natural High and Elegant Concorde. However, it was his association with the talented Rite Of Passage that generated the most publicity for McNamara. The six-year-old was a highly-anticipated recruit to the hurdling ranks and McNamara rode him to impressive successes in a maiden hurdle at Leopardstown and a conditions hurdle at Punchestown. While the pair could only finish third in the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, McNamara was compensated for that Grade 1 reversal just a few weeks later. Riding the Weld-trained Hidden Universe, the pair recorded a comfortable success in the Grade 1 Paddy Power Champion INH Flat Race at the Punchestown Festival.
Another Lucrative Campaign
McNamara has continued his march up the amateur rider rankings in 2010/11. Weld has again proved to be a valuable source of winners for him, while he has also ridden winners for the likes of John Kiely, Charles Byrnes and Tom Cooper. McNamara added another string to his bow in September when riding his first winner on the beach at Laytown on the Dave Marnane-trained He’s Got Rhythm. However, all of those wins were put in the shade by McNamara’s success on his old friend Majestic Concorde in the valuable Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival. That win was all the sweeter as it came against all the top professional riders in the country. Back at Leopardstown less than a fortnight later, McNamara partnered the Weld-trained Waaheb to make an impressive winning debut in a bumper and that exciting prospect went on to provide him with two more impressive wins in the months that followed. Such has been the success of his season, he lies in a close fourth in the race for the title of Champion Amateur despite having taken significantly less rides than those ahead of him.
With the support of one of the country’s top trainer’s behind him, this talented amateur is likely to remain at the top end of his profession as long as his body weight allows him.
Info supplied by Horse Racing Ireland. Updated May 2011.
