It was clear in our weekly chats that he took this new role every bit as seriously as he took race-riding, which he had to give up, reluctantly, at the age of 42, after his diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. Smullen's role at TDN was for him a bit part compared to his ongoing involvement with Moyglare Stud, Dermot Weld's stable, and his ambassadorship of Irish Champions Weekend, but the feedback his well-planned column received each week was testament to how much his incisive and thoughtful commentary on the sport that he loved touched a nerve with readers.

When Smullen announced his retirement in TDN in May 2019, he ended that week's column with the words, “I've been very fortunate, I'm content with the decision and I'm looking forward to being able to contribute and give something back to the industry in some shape or form.”

That he did in his typically selfless fashion in the 17 months Smullen had left to live. Later that year, it became clear that he was giving plenty back beyond just the horseracing industry. On Irish Champions Weekend, more than €2.5 million was raised for Cancer Trials Ireland, with Smullen at the forefront of a Herculean and emotional fundraising effort which saw nine of his former weighing-room colleagues come out of retirement to ride in the Pat Smullen Champions Race at the Curragh.

His death, almost exactly a year later in September 2020, was by no means the end of the fundraising, despite a temporary pandemic-enforced hiatus. In recent weeks, the application process has begun for the newly created Pat Smullen Chair in Pancreatic Cancer at University College Dublin (UCD). The position will be funded by the Pat Smullen Pancreatic Cancer Fund at Cancer Trials Ireland, with matched funding from the HSE National Cancer Control Programme.

Smullen's wife, Frances Crowley, remains deeply enmeshed in the ongoing efforts to fund vital cancer trials which will one day ease the plight of other cancer sufferers. While admitting that she would rather remain behind the scenes, the modest Crowley, herself a highly respected former jockey and Classic-winning trainer, is currently engaged in a hectic print and TV media schedule to promote the new position, which carries with it the ambition of making Ireland a global centre of excellence for the treatment and research of pancreatic cancer.

“We had the big day in 2019 and then obviously nothing happened in 2020, but the following year we had our first Coast to Curragh Cycle,” she says, the latter being the charity initiative set up in association with Gavin Lynch to commemorate both his mother and Smullen. 

“The cycle finished at the Curragh but in the first year we weren't able to do a whole lot as things were still a bit closed up because of Covid, but we raised lots of money.

“Last year we made it bigger and better and we were able to do a charity lunch at the races and organise more fundraising in between the two days. Since the big day I think we've raised an extra €375,000, so we're hoping to get to the half-million mark this year.”

Announcing the Pat Smullen Chair in Pancreatic Cancer at UCD!! A partnership of @cancertrials_ie @hseNCCP and @UCDMedicine

This new position will anchor expertise in pancreatic research in Ireland with the ambition of making Ireland a global centre of excellence for… pic.twitter.com/TCT0P4IEyU

— CancerTrialsIreland (@cancertrials_ie) July 10, 2023

Next month, the Pat Smullen race day returns to the Curragh on August 26, featuring not just the conclusion of the Coast to Curragh Cycle but also the Pat Smullen Cancer Trials Ireland Charity Race, in which it is hoped that 10 to 15 riders will take part in memory of a family member or friend they have lost to cancer, or to support anyone currently living with cancer. The race is over a mile and a half of Ireland's most famous racecourse, and riders, who are asked to raise a minimum of €3,000 to take part, will have access to mentoring sessions prior to competing.

Crowley continued, “Eibhlin Mulroe [CEO, Cancer Trials Ireland] contacted me last November to say that something really exciting was going to happen, and that was the Chair in pancreatic cancer at UCD. They were in the process of organising for a world-class expert in pancreatic cancer to be recruited to take up this role, which includes a clinical position at St Vincent's University Hospital, where Pat had his treatment, and will have the educational and research role at UCD.

“It will basically be bringing on the research for trials, bringing trials to Ireland, and driving investment for trials, which will be a great step forward. It is such an honour and we are delighted that this is going ahead.

“The Pat Smullen Fund will fund this for the next five years, which is a commitment of €900,000, so we will have to keep up the fundraising. Pat's name will stay on the Chair, however, with UCD taking on the funding in the future. It's a great legacy that he has left.”

'Pat very much felt that if he could use the profile he had to make some kind of a difference then that was what he wanted to do'

The commitment to the charity has brought a lot of extra work for Crowley, who is also involved in breeding future stars of the racecourse at her farm in Rhode, Co Offaly, close to where Smullen was born and raised. It is not just four-legged participants, either, as the couple's eldest daughter, Hannah Smullen, will take her first ride in the ladies' bumper at Killarney on Thursday evening. Meanwhile their younger children, Paddy and Sarah, are both keen riders competing all over Ireland.

“It's good to keep busy,” says Crowley with a laugh. “Hannah rode in a charity race and is having her first ride at Killarney. She's doing law and she's flat out this summer but she really wanted to have a few rides and give it a shot. Paddy and Sarah are both competing and we're in the middle of weaning foals.”

Crowley's ongoing association with Cancer Trials Ireland, though never actually discussed with Smullen, appears to have happened not just through her sense of duty but also a form of spiritual guidance.

“At the time I remember that Pat very much felt that if he could use the profile he had to make some kind of a difference then that was what he wanted to do. To be honest, I don't think even he dreamt of how big it would be,” she says. 

“But you know what, I feel like Pat is still directing it all and that we are all just going along with it. So many coincidences have happened; things like when I was up in UCD and talking to someone there who had visited the National Stud for the first time ever and he was literally patting [Smullen's Gold Cup winner] Rite Of Passage when the phone rang and it was Eibhlin talking to him about this.”

Crowley adds, “To keep the momentum going for the fundraising, I honestly feel like Pat has his own hand in it and is doing it all from wherever he is.”

With the various events taking shape for the Pat Smullen race day, Crowley is pleased to report that the tables for the lunch and auction are “selling like hotcakes” and that Smullen's old friend and fellow multiple champion jockey Sir Anthony McCoy has once again signed up for the Coast to Curragh Cycle. 

“Horse Racing Ireland did a huge amount of work for the big day in 2019,” she says. “Barbara White was assigned to it and she did nothing else for months. She's still a huge part of it and is involved in the race day with the team at the Curragh who are all doing such great work. It is hard work but we're delighted to be doing it.”

Whatever beliefs each of us hold, it is impossible to deny that, either in spirit or influence, Pat Smullen is still making his mark. In Ireland and beyond, he was revered as a great sportsman. His greater legacy, however, is inspiring all who remember him with love and admiration to continue his final and most important piece of work.

Further details of the Pat Smullen Pancreatic Cancer Fund can be found here. 

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The position will require shared time between clinical work as a treating physician at St Vincent's University Hospital–the national surgical centre for pancreatic cancer–and research work at University College Dublin (UCD). Candidates from Ireland and abroad are expected to apply.

The role is named in memory of Pat Smullen, who passed away from pancreatic cancer in September 2020. Through his efforts, the Irish horse racing and breeding industry over Irish Champions Weekend in September 2019 raised €2.6 million for Cancer Trials Ireland's pancreatic cancer trials and awareness.

“The Pat Smullen Pancreatic Cancer Fund arises from various fundraising endeavours undertaken by champion jockey, Pat Smullen, his family, and the horse racing community, following his diagnosis with pancreatic cancer in March 2018. The inaugural fundraising event raised €2.6 million with further fundraising events having raised an additional €367,000 to date,” said Eibhlin Mulroe, CEO of Cancer Trials Ireland. “Sadly, Pat died in September 2020, but his legacy lives on and the fund he created has now provided new treatment options for 174 patients with pancreatic cancer, at no cost to themselves, or to the State.”

For more information on the Pat Smullen Pancreatic Cancer Fund, visit Cancer Trials Ireland.

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The cycle will begin at Laytown Races and finish at The Curragh, a distance of 155 km that will feature various stops along the way, including at Gilltown Stud where there will be a meet and greet with Smullen's 2016 Derby and Irish Derby winner Harzand (Ire) (Sea the Stars {Ire}). Cyclists can opt to complete the entire journey or join in at the various stops.

Members of Smullen's family along with Ruby Walsh, Johnny Murtagh, Paul Carberry, Joseph O'Brien, Fran Berry, Charlie Swan, Barry Geraghty, Paul Townend, Patrick Mullins and racing pundits Kevin Blake and Gary O'Brien are some of the racing stars who are supporting the cycle. To take part, register on the Cycling Ireland website.

The Coast To Curragh charity cycle is the brainchild of Gavin Lynch, who lost his mother to pancreatic cancer. “This is going to be a very special cycle and I'd love to see as many people taking part and supporting Cancer Trials Ireland,” he said. “We have had brilliant support so far, including generous support from Paddy Power and Servier Laboratories (Ireland) Ltd. The cycle is open to all levels of fitness and ability, so I encourage everyone to give it a go.”

Frances Crowley, Pat's wife, said, “Pat was so focused and determined to raise as much awareness as possible about pancreatic cancer and raise money for Cancer Trials Ireland's vital cancer research work, so I know he would be very proud and humbled that Gavin shares the same vision. I'd like to sincerely thank Gavin for organising this very special cycle and I'd encourage everyone to take part, even if it is to cycle one or two stages. It's going to be brilliant fun and everyone taking part will visit some of Ireland's most picturesque and iconic racecourses and stud farms–some of Pat's favourites and all very close to his heart.”

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While Smullen’s and O’Brien’s wives Frances Crowley and Annemarie O’Brien are sisters and highly accomplished horsewomen, Smullen spent much of his career in rivalry with O’Brien as stable jockey to Dermot Weld.

“Pat was one very special person–one of these people you meet once in a lifetime,” O’Brien told Sky Sports Racing. “He is irreplaceable. He was genuine, tough, consistent–an unbelievable horseman and a brilliant jockey. He helped everybody and was very sincere to everybody. Nothing about Pat was false–he was true to everybody. I think that’s why he was so admired and will never be forgotten. We felt privileged to know him and to have worked with him and to be part of our family.”

High on Smullen’s list of accomplishments was his Derby double aboard Harzand (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) in 2016, with O’Brien runners finishing second on both occasions.

“Pat beat us in two Derbys–he beat us at The Curragh and at Epsom,” O’Brien said. “We did everything in our power for that not to happen, but he had it worked out and had the power, the courage, the skill and the determination to make it happen. We’re so delighted that he experienced those days.”

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The news of the death of Pat Smullen at the age of just 43 was followed by a flood of heartfelt tributes. They came both from within the racing world, united for once in sentiment, and from those outside its sphere, including the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins.

As befits a man of his sporting prowess, Smullen was revered beyond the shores of his home country but he stayed true to Ireland throughout his prolific career, despite some lucrative offers to ride abroad. His achievements can be measured not just by his nine Irish Champion Jockey titles and 12 Classic victories but in his extraordinary longevity as stable jockey to Dermot Weld. In a riding career that spanned 25 years, he spent two decades at Weld’s Rosewell House on the Curragh, a fact that says as much for his outstanding riding ability as it does for the loyalty and dependability of the man himself.

Patrick Joseph Smullen was born on May 22, 1977, in Rhode, Co Offaly. From first sitting on a pony as a 12-year-old, he was, like his elder brother Sean, quickly drawn to horses and left school at the age of 15 to pursue his dream of a career as a jockey.

Apprenticed to his local trainer Tom Lacy at Tullamore, Smullen did not take long to record the first of his near-2,000 winners when riding Vicosa to victory at Dundalk on June 11, 1993.

Lacy’s son Tony paid a moving tribute to Smullen from Kentucky on Wednesday.

He said, “Pat set a standard that we’d all like to achieve but never could. Not just in his riding career, but when you look at the outpouring of grief, it comes from everyone, even the President of Ireland. Pat was a farmer’s son and honesty was personified in his father Paddy. The man Pat was came from his family. His mother is humble, gracious and sincere, his brothers the same way.”

Recalling his early association with the teenage pony racer, Lacy added, “His father had approached my dad and said ‘Pat doesn’t want to go to school, he wants to be a jockey’. He’d been learning some riding skills by going in at the weekends to Joanna Morgan and he had such determination. That is the one way I would describe Pat in his early years: determined. You often see young people coming through and wanting to be a jockey but they rarely have the true determination and focus. But the first thing that struck me about Pat was that he was a young guy intent on improving himself, who was buying and watching VHS tapes of Mick Kinane. He idolised Mick Kinane and studied him really carefully.”

Smullen underlined his closeness to the Lacy family when reflecting on his riding career last year.
“They took me in and treated me like one of their own,” he said. “They gave me an opportunity to ride and one of the achievements that I’m most proud of was being champion apprentice two years running while I with Tom. That was something very special.”

It was quickly apparent to the racing world that Smullen was himself something very special. He served a spell working as second jockey to Johnny Murtagh for John Oxx. Then, just six years after riding his first winner, he succeeded his idol Mick Kinane in one of the plum jobs in Irish racing at Weld’s powerful stable, thus beginning one of the most enduring partnerships of the turf.

Kinane’s were no easy shoes to fill but Smullen quickly adapted to the role. Having been champion apprentice in 1995 and 1996, he claimed his first professional title in 2000, the year after joining Weld.

“He was the professional’s professional,” said the trainer of his long-time ally in a video to commemorate Smullen being presented with the Cartier Award of Merit in November 2019.

Smullen retained the championship in 2001, the year in which he formed an even more important alliance with his marriage to Frances Crowley, whom he had met when they were both working in Dubai. The first female to be crowned champion amateur rider in Ireland, Crowley also trained successfully, first from Piltown at the base used with distinction by her father Joe Crowley, brother-in-law and sister Aidan and Annemarie O’Brien, and now by her nephew Joseph O’Brien. With Smullen, she moved to Clifton Lodge to train on the Curragh, where she recorded the greatest success of her training career when saddling Saoire (GB) (Pivotal {GB}) to win the Irish 1000 Guineas in 2005. It was a day made even more special by her husband winning the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup aboard the Weld-bred and -trained Grey Swallow (Ire) (Daylami {Ire}). Having made another entry in the history books by becoming the first woman to train an Irish Classic winner, Crowley relinquished her licence three years later to concentrate on raising their children.

Smullen acknowledged his wife’s contribution to his career last year when announcing his retirement in his TDN column.

“Our best day as a family was when she won the 1000 Guineas with Saoire and I won the Tattersalls Gold Cup on Grey Swallow on the same day for Dermot Weld,” he recalled. “She was a great rider herself and an exceptionally good trainer, and she gave it up to support me in my career and to raise our family. You can’t ask for more from one person than what she has given me.”

By that stage, big-race wins were almost a formality for Smullen. He claimed two Irish 1000 Guineas himself, the first on Nightime (Ire), the filly who became the first Classic winner for her sire Galileo (Ire), as well as two Irish Derbys and an Irish Oaks. Of his many successful partnerships on the track, Smullen counted his four Irish St Leger victories aboard the super-tough Vinnie Roe (Ire) (Definite Article {GB}) as being among his most memorable achievements.

His position with Weld gave Smullen the opportunity to ride for many of the sport’s great owner-breeders and it is well documented that for him, the best of days came when winning the 2016 Derby on Harzand (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) for the Aga Khan.

However, it was perhaps fitting that his first Group 1 victory, from before his time with Weld, came aboard Tarascon (Ire) (Tirol {Ire}) for Tommy Stack in the Moyglare Stud S. of 1997. Later, it was the Haefner family’s Moyglare Stud with which Smullen was most readily associated. Among the major wins recorded for Moyglare came his first British Classic success in the 2000 Guineas with Refuse To Bend (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells). He also won the G1 Prince Of Wales’s S. with Free Eagle (Ire) (High Chaparral {Ire}) and the GI Matriarch S. at Hollywood Park on Dress To Thrill (Ire) (Danehill). Following his retirement from the saddle last year, Smullen was appointed racing advisor at Moylgare Stud for Eva-Maria Bucher-Haefner, working alongside his friend Fiona Craig.

In the year Smullen achieved his crowning glory as a rider at Epsom, he also secured his ninth and final jockeys’ title, having been at the top of this list in three consecutive seasons since wresting the championship from his nephew Joseph O’Brien. Only Mick Kinane, with 13 titles, has been champion jockey in Ireland on more occasions.

In the countdown to the start of the turf season in March 2018, Smullen was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The driven, sometimes inscrutable character he had been in his race-riding days gave way to one who became a candid ambassador, both for racing and for fellow cancer sufferers. The ice in his veins melted under his own warmth of personality and, one hopes, the love and support shown to him by his many friends and admirers after the news of his illness was announced.

Through two major operations and bouts of chemotherapy in that first year, it was clearly Smullen’s intention to return to the saddle. When he started his popular weekly column in TDN in March 2019, he talked openly about how horses were an important part of his therapy.

“As a rider I always loved the mornings,” he said. “I loved getting the feel of a good horse and I think my feedback in the mornings was pretty good as well. I’m looking forward to getting back to riding work. It will give me that buzz that I need. That’s what strengthens me, the excitement of getting back on a horse and the sooner that happens, the better.”

Smullen returned to riding out later that spring and, though fully accepting of the medical advice that he should not put his body through the rigours required to make a competitive comeback, he was already planning one last hurrah as part of a grand fundraising drive for Cancer Trials Ireland. As it transpired, the Pat Smullen Champions Race, run on Irish Champions Weekend in 2019, would not feature the man himself in the saddle. Though visibly struggling after the cancer had returned, he was however there in person to greet some of his greatest former rivals returning from retirement to honour their friend.

In his crusade against pancreatic cancer, the racing world marched behind Smullen, willing him on. The goodwill and respect he earned throughout his career helped the fundraising campaign to accrue more than €2.5 million towards important early diagnostic and treatment techniques to combat the disease. In July, Smullen was photographed handing over a €100,000 cheque to St Vincent’s, the Dublin hospital where he underwent his treatment and where he died on Tuesday evening, exactly one year after the memorably emotional scenes on the Curragh for the race named in his honour.

“I’d like to think I achieved a little bit,” he said in 2019 when reflecting on his career as a jockey. “I might not have done anything brilliant, but I think I was consistent the whole way through. I think that’s very important in a stable jockey’s job, and that’s what I loved being, the stable jockey.”

Those words alone point to why he was deeply loved for a modesty so often lacking in today’s world. In shining a light on the achievements of others in his weekly bulletins in these pages throughout last year, his qualities beyond great jockeyship were reflected: as a mentor to the young riders following in his wake and as an eloquent representative for the sport which he loved.

“I’d like to think that I treated people with respect throughout my career and I think that all came back to me in a time of need,” he said.

For Pat Smullen, success went hand-in-hand with humility and gratitude. And when adversity came knocking, he didn’t shut the door and hide away. Instead, he gave it that famous blue-eyed stare and, in confronting the unwelcome visitor we all dread, set an example of courage and fortitude to which we all must aspire.

We wish for the same strength now for Pat’s wife Frances, children Hannah, Paddy and Sarah, mother Mary and brothers Sean, Ger and Brian, to whom we offer our sincerest condolences.

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Smullen began riding out as an apprentice for Tom Lacy, and made an immediate impact, being named champion apprentice both in 1995 and 1996. He also rode for Joanna Morgan and after serving his apprenticeship, Smullen rode for various other trainers, including John Oxx, and Tommy Stack before joining forces as first call rider for Irish maestro Dermot Weld in 1999. For Weld he would serve the rest of his 20-year career.

Among those two decades were the aforementioned nine riding titles, the most recent in 2016, after piloting Harzand (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) to a win in the G1 Epsom Derby. Smullen booted home 10 other Classic winners, including G1 Irish Oaks victress Covert Love (Ire) (Azamour {Ire}), G1 2000 Guineas hero Refuse to Bend (Ire) (Sadler’s Wells) and quadruple G1 Irish St Leger winner Vinnie Roe (Ire) (Definite Article {GB}).

Smullen began penning a weekly column for the TDN shortly before he retired from the saddle in May of 2019 after doctors advised him against a return to race riding. He put those months to good use, however, subsequently raising over €2.5 million for Cancer Trials Ireland through various charity efforts. One of the highlights of his fundraising was the Pat Smullen Champions Race. He also was part of the advisory team at Eva Bucher-Haefner’s Moyglare Stud, for whom he rode many successful horses during his jockey days.

During the annual Cartier Awards last year, Smullen was presented with the Cartier/Daily Telegraph Award of Merit in London on Nov. 12. (Click here to view the video). He was also appointed as the honourary president of the International Federation of Jockeys Associations.

Smullen is survived by his wife Frances Crowley and their three children-Hannah, Paddy and Sarah. Funeral plans are pending.

Twitter Tributes:

“I never saw courage like this–Pat Smullen was a truly special man.” — Nick Luck

“Pat Smullen was one of Irish racing’s brightest stars, a nine time champion, but his achievements in the saddle pale in comparison to his qualities out of it. An inspiration to us all, his legacy is large. All our thoughts this evening are with Frances, Hannah, Paddy and Sarah.” — Brian Kavanagh

“Pat Smullen was that rare breed of a genuine great at what he did, yet utterly decent and unpretentious about that greatness. RIP Pat.” — Vincent Hogan

“Truly heartbreaking news about Pat Smullen. He was great jockey and even better man. My thoughts are with his family at this time.” — Jonjo O’Neill

“So very sad to learn of the passing of Pat Smullen. What a jockey and ambassador for a sport we all love, but above all what a gentleman and legend. My sincerest condolences to Frances, Hannah, Paddy, Sarah and all his family. May he rest in peace.” — Mouse O’Ryan

“Heartbroken–for his family, for his friends, for racing–the world is a worse place tonight without Pat Smullen. He was the true combination of both legend & gentleman–courageous, gracious, humble & kind. My deepest condolences to Frances, Hannah, Paddy & Sarah.” — Cathy Grassick

“Terrible news to hear this morning of the passing of Pat Smullen, A legend of the weigh room and a jockey that I was lucky enough to ask for advice many times. Will be sadly missed and a massive loss to the sport.” — Robbie Dolan

“It’s days like today that make you question everything. Thoughts with Pat’s family and friends and the racing community. Irish sport and society has lost a gem. Rest In Peace, Pat.” — Ronan O’Gara

“He will be so dearly missed by the global horse racing community. Rest In peace, Pat.” — Breeders’ Cup

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