Robbie McNamara to miss Grand National

Robbie McNamara will miss out on riding the topweight Lord Windermere in the Aintree Grand National after sustaining injuries to his back at Wexford on Friday.

The former top amateur jockey was involved in a nasty incident in the first race at Wexford when his mount Buseldon fell at the fourth last flight in a handicap hurdle, an incident that saw two horses being brought down.

McNamara was taken to nearby Wexford hospital where he underwent a CT scan and the Turf Club’s medical officer, Dr Adrian McGoldrick, reported: “He’s having a scan on a potential spinal injury.”

A dual-Cheltenham festival winning jockey, McNamara, 26, is a first cousin of former rider John Thomas McNamara who was left paralysed after sustaining spinal injuries in a fall at the 2013 Cheltenham festival.

It is only five months since McNamara, who is 6ft and 3inches in height, turned professional after a stellar amateur career which included winning twice at the 2014 Cheltenham festival, on Silver Concorde in the Champion Bumper and Spring Heeled in the Kim Muir Chase.