Emmet McNamara (born 9 January 1990) is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used to describe the individual ...

who competes in

Flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...

. He gained his most notable success to date when riding Serpentine to victory in the

2020 Epsom Derby {, class="collapsible collapsed" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="clear:right; float:right; text-align:center; font-weight:bold;" width="280px" ! colspan="3" style="border:1px solid black; background-color: #77DD77;" , Also Ran T ...

. It was McNamara's first ride in the race and provided trainer

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

with a record eighth Derby win.

Background

McNamara grew up in

County Limerick "Remember Limerick" , image_map = Island_of_Ireland_location_map_Limerick.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Munster , subdivision ...

and comes from a racing background. His father, Eric McNamara, is a

National Hunt In horse racing in the United Kingdom, France and Republic of Ireland, National Hunt racing requires horses to jump fences and ditches. National Hunt racing in the UK is informally known as "jumps" and is divided into two major distinct branches: ...

trainer based in

Rathkeale Rathkeale () is a town in west County Limerick, in Ireland. It is 30 km (18 mi) southwest of Limerick city on the N21 road to Tralee, County Kerry, and lies on the River Deel. Rathkeale has a significant Irish Traveller population, and ...

and a brother, Conor McNamara, is a

conditional jockey A conditional jockey is an apprentice National Hunt racing jockey in Great Britain or Ireland under the age of 26 who has not won more than seventy-five races under rules or had not won that many races within the last six months. A conditional joc ...

. McNamara was champion for two years running on the pony racing circuit and rode a record total of 65 winners.

Career

McNamara's first win as an apprentice jockey came in 2007 when riding Prince Livius at

Tipperary Tipperary is the name of: Places *County Tipperary, a county in Ireland **North Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Nenagh **South Tipperary, a former administrative county based in Clonmel *Tipperary (town), County Tipperary's na ...

for trainer Tom Hogan. The following year he was champion Irish apprentice jockey. In 2014 he started working for trainer

Aidan O'Brien Aidan Patrick O'Brien (born 16 October 1969 in County Wexford, Ireland) Aidan O'Brien bio NTRA. ...

Ballydoyle Ballydoyle is a racehorse training facility located in County Tipperary in Ireland. It is a sister thoroughbred facility to Coolmore Stud, and both are owned by John Magnier, son in law to the racehorse trainer Vincent O'Brien. The current train ...

, where he was a work rider as well as riding in races. In 2015 he won the

Group 2 The term Group 2 may refer to: * Alkaline earth metal, a chemical element classification * Astronaut Group 2, also known as The New Nine, the second group of astronauts selected by NASA in 1962 * Group 2 (racing), an FIA classification for cars in ...

Beresford Stakes The Beresford Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled to take place ...

at the

Curragh Racecourse The Curragh Racecourse -- usually referred to as simply the Curragh -- is one of Ireland's most important Thoroughbred racecourses. It is situated on the Curragh plain in County Kildare, between the towns of Newbridge and Kildare. History T ...

on Port Douglas and in 2017 he won the Group 3

Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial The Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlongs (2,012 metres) ...

on Douglas Macarthur. McNamara combined his riding with studying at

Griffith College Dublin Griffith College ( ga, Coláiste Uí Ghríofa) is one of the two largest, and one of the longest-established private, third level (higher education) colleges in Ireland. Overview Established in 1974, with four campuses in Dublin, Cork and Li ...

, graduating with a first-class honours degree in accounting and finance in 2018. On 27 June 2020 McNamara rode Tiger Moth for O'Brien in the

Irish Derby The Irish Derby (Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 ...

and was beaten by a head by stablemate and favourite

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

. A few days later he was offered a ride in the

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey o ...

on Serpentine, one of O'Brien's six runners in the race. It was his first ride in the Derby, which was held on 4 July, having been postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. For the same reason it was being held without spectators ( behind closed doors). Serpentine, who went off at odds of 25/1, soon established an unassailable lead and stayed on to win by five-and-a-half lengths. It was McNamara's first win since the previous October, and provided O'Brien with a record eighth Derby win. After the race McNamara said: "All I heard was the horse breathing. I got a little bit of a freebie. Aidan said go your own tempo give him a breather and then keep going. He was right."

Major wins

Great Britain *

- '' Serpentine (2020)''

References

1990 births Living people Irish jockeys {{Ireland-horseracing-bio-stub