Ready to make new mark on meeting he so often made his own in the saddle

While there are undoubtedly more prestigious events in the global racing calendar, success at Galway's seven-day celebration of equine dexterity and human endurance invariably tends to be of the euphoric variety.

There is nowhere quite like it, and Robbie McNamara knows that better than most. Still relatively new to the training ranks, McNamara will head west next week in search of his maiden triumph at the Ballybrit bonanza.

Just over a year has passed since the Limerick native plundered a Cork double from his first four runners, a venture that was long in the planning. He has promptly emerged as a trainer to be taken seriously.