Emmet McNamara (born 9 January 1990) is an Irish

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), 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 ...

who competes in

Flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, 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 spor ...

. He gained his most notable success to date when riding Serpentine to victory in the 2020 Epsom Derby. 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 County Limerick () is a western Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West Region, Ireland, Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Reg ...

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

National Hunt National Hunt Racing, also known as Jump Racing, is a form of horse racing particular to many European countries, including, but not limited to: France, Great Britain and Ireland. Jump Racing requires horses to jump over fences and ditches. In ...

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. The town is in a townland and civil parish of the same n ...

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 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 trai ...

, 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 The alkaline earth metals are six chemical elements in group (periodic table), group 2 of the periodic table. They are beryllium (Be), magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca), strontium (Sr), barium (B ...

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 pla ...

at the

Curragh Racecourse The Curragh Racecourse is a flat racecourse in County Kildare, Ireland. The racecourse is home to Ireland’s five most important flat races, known as the Irish Classic Races, Classics. Racing takes place 23 days each year from the end of March ...

on Port Douglas and in 2017 he won the Group 3

Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial The Leopardstown Derby Trial, currently run as the Cashel Palace Hotel Derby Trial, is a Group 3 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbreds. It is run over a distance of ...

on Douglas Macarthur. McNamara combined his riding with studying at

Griffith College Dublin Griffith College Dublin (GCD) () is one of the longest-established private third level (higher education) colleges in Dublin, Ireland. Established in 1974, with four campuses in Dublin, Cork and Limerick. Overview Griffith College is the ...

, 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 dista ...

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 and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

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

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, more commonly known as the Derby and sometimes referred to as the Epsom Derby, is a Group races, Group 1 flat Horse racing, horse race in England open to three-year-old Colt (horse), colts and Filly, fillies. It is run at Ep ...

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 and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. For the same reason it was being held without spectators (

behind closed doors Behind Closed Doors may refer to: Film, television and radio Film * ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1929 film), an early talkie starring Virginia Valli * Behind Closed Doors (1961 film), ''Behind Closed Doors'' (1961 film), an Italian comedy film by Dino ...

). 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 Equestrians from County Limerick {{Ireland-horseracing-bio-stub