Our thoughts are with his wife Caroline, his children and all who knew him.” Renowned as one of the best amateur riders the sport has ever seen, McNamara partnered more than 600 winners during his career, including famous Cheltenham Festival successes aboard the likes of Teaforthree and Spot Thedifference. The Irish jockey John Thomas McNamara has died aged 41. Adrian McGoldrick, senior medical officer for the Irish Turf Club, told Press Association Sport: “I’ve just spoken to his wife Caroline and I can confirm JT passed away peacefully during the night. McNamara was paralysed following a fall at the Cheltenham Festival in 2013, when he fractured two vertebrae in his neck when Galaxy Rock came down at the first fence in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup.

Source: The Guardian July 26, 2016 08:15 UTC