Hall of Fame recognition for Tommy Carberry
by Conall Collier Updated: Wednesday, 20th January, 2010 4:48pm
WINNER ALRIGHT....... Pamela Carberry with her husband Tommy celebrate the Hall of Fame accolade with Mary Wallace TD and Ray Lyons at Knightsbrook Hotel of Friday afternoon.
The legendary Tommy Carberry was a popular recipient of the Meath Chronicle / Cusack Hotels Hall of Fame accolade at the third annual Sports Personality-of-the-Year awards on Friday.
The invitation-only guests who attended the ceremony at the Knightsbrook Hotel, Trim listened attentively as master of ceremonies Micheal O Muircheartaigh outlined a brief summary of the jockey-turned-trainer's achievements since he rode in his first race as far back as 1958.
Carberry enjoyed a long career in the saddle from the time he was crowned champion apprentice in 1959 until he hung up the whip and helmet in 1982, after which he commenced training.
Accompanied by his wife Pamela at Friday's function, Tommy Carberry recalled many of the memorable and lighter moments as the audience listened, enthralled, to some of the memories which many of those present would have witnessed on television.
LIke the Aintree Grand National victory in 1975 with the great L'Escargot which got up to beat the hat-trick-chasing Red Rum and in the process became the last Irish winner of the great Liverpool race for almost a quarter of a century.
Carberry enjoyed many great victories with L'Escargot which included the equivalent of the Irish Champion Hurdle in 1969 and successive Cheltenham Gold Cups in 1970 and 1971 and the Aintree race in 1975.
Other horses that Carberry won big races with included the big Irish hurdle race of the year with the Archie Watson-trained Flashy Boy in 1974, another Cheltenham Gold Cup with Ten Up in 1975 and he also steered Brown Lad to successive Irish Grand Nationals. There was a sensational victory in the Powers Gold Cup at Fairyhouse in 1972 when Carberry won on the Dan Moore-trained Frou Frou which was a surprise winner after three horses fell at the second last fence in the big Fairyhouse race which is still known as the Powers Gold Cup.
When he retired from race-riding, he turned his hand to training and two of his notable successes were recorded at his home track, Fairyhouse and at Liverpool.
With his son Paul on board, he won the 1998 Irish Grand National with BobbyJo and 12 months later ended a 24-year barren spell without an Irish victory when father and son teamed-up to win at Aintree.
That 1999 Aintree victory was a great occasion, made all the more memorable by the fact that there was the magic link between the two victories 24 years apart - Tommy Carberry, jockey and trainer.
Tommy Carberry was a champion jockey - twice he was overall champion Irish jockey and five times he was champion national hunt jockey.
Sean Boylan was the inaugural recipient of the Hall of Fame and he is now joined by another great Meath man, Tommy Carberry.
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