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JT McNamara

'He's in a positive frame of mind' -- Mick Fitzgerald's hope for paralysed Irish jockey JT McNamara

The amateur rider fell at Cheltenham earlier this month.

LAST NIGHT IT was confirmed that Irish jockey JT McNamara has been left paralysed by the serious neck injury he sustained at the Cheltenham Festival earlier this month.

Today the racing world is rallying around the amateur rider.

McNamara was injured when Galaxy Rock fell at the first fence in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup and had to be airlifted to a Bristol hospital.

“It’s a mixture of sadness, it’s the end of a great career for a jockey who was an amateur and did it because he loved the game,” Mick Fitzgerald, whose career was ended by injury, said on Sky Sports today.

“When it happened at the time a sombre mood descended on Cheltenham, everyone had everything crossed and plenty of people were praying their worse fears wouldn’t be realised. This is the end of a glittering career. The great thing I can say is that he’s in a positive frame of mind and that is number one. He’s surrounded by people who love him and I can only extend my best wishes to him and his family.

“It’s a high-risk sport and this is one of the things that can happen. As a jump jockey you go out to ride every day knowing it could be your last. You never think it could be you, it always happens to someone else. We devote our lives to the sport we love. None of us want to see a jockey injured, the same goes for the horse.

“Getting injured is always in the back of your mind but if you were thinking about it, you wouldn’t be able to do your job. He’s alive and well and in a positive frame of mind. It’s important that racing does what it can to help him enjoy the rest of life. I cannot tell you how nice a guy he is.”

A statement issued on behalf of McNamara last night indicated he was in a positive frame of mind and would soon be transferred to the Mater Hospital in Dublin.

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