'Other trainers say how difficult it is to get staff, but I can't say the same - when people come here, they seem to stay'

Eric McNamara has much to be proud of these days. The 40 horses he trains on 100 acres of prime land near his native Rathkeale are in truly fine fettle. By the end of October, he’d already banked more prize-money than in any other full season of his career, and he should pass his best number of winners before the year grows too much older.

Highlights include five victories at Listowel's Harvest festival this autumn, followed up by another day of glory when Real Steel took the Munster National at his local course, Limerick, a couple of weeks later. Off track things are not going too shoddily either.

McNamara's home, Beechmount House, is an immaculately maintained Georgian mansion that dates to the 1780s. Immersed in a tightly knit family with loyal and talented staff, his tortuous commute to work is to step a few yards from his kitchen door into well-equipped, spacious stables. There are even happy tidings coming from Old Trafford with optimism that his beloved Manchester United may have at last stumbled across a half-decent manager.