InterviewEric McNamara
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'I had 60 horses, then the recession hit and I had eight - but we've been lucky'
Colm Greaves talks to the resurgent Limerick trainer prior to his Thyestes tilt
Colm GreavesFeatures writer
Eric McNamara (right): runs Donkey Years in the Thyestes Chase on ThursdayCredit: Patrick McCann
Mark Twain famously mused that “the coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco”. Clearly the great American humourist had never attended a race meeting on a bitterly cold afternoon in Ireland in the middle of January.
If it was warmth that you were seeking last Monday, then Punchestown was the last place you’d look.
Eric McNamara sent one runner to the meeting from his stables near Rathkeale in County Limerick, a journey of 200 kilometres and then the same again home through the frosty winter darkness.
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Copymore inInterviews
- 'You can see why people end up struggling - when you're trying to pay the electric bill, losing one ride can be massive'
- 'I've never paid six figures for a horse and never will - I learned pretty quickly you're only one phone call away from f*** all'
- 'I’ve trained some fabulous horses, worked with some excellent riders - maybe I have brought a little bit of talent to the table as well'
- ‘When you’re in the moment and you’re starved, you’re ready to explode - everything built up and I just lost my s**t’
- 'He must have his breakfast earlier than Willie does' - Patrick Mullins goes behind enemy lines at Gordon Elliott's yard
more inInterviews
- 'You can see why people end up struggling - when you're trying to pay the electric bill, losing one ride can be massive'
- 'I've never paid six figures for a horse and never will - I learned pretty quickly you're only one phone call away from f*** all'
- 'I’ve trained some fabulous horses, worked with some excellent riders - maybe I have brought a little bit of talent to the table as well'
- ‘When you’re in the moment and you’re starved, you’re ready to explode - everything built up and I just lost my s**t’
- 'He must have his breakfast earlier than Willie does' - Patrick Mullins goes behind enemy lines at Gordon Elliott's yard