Tributes pour in for Pat
IRISH racing was rocked last night by the untimely death of Pat Smullen. The ninetimes Irish champion jockey, who was 43, had been battling pancreatic cancer since March 2018.
Smullen, from Rhode, County Offaly, was retained jockey for trainer Dermot Weld, for whom he completed the Epsom DerbyIrish Derby double on the Aga Khan’s Harzand in 2016.
Smullen’s charity initiative to raise money for pancreatic cancer trials last year raised a sum in excess of €2.5m, while a legends race at the Curragh to flag the charity was won by AP McCoy.
Trainer Jessica Harrington tweeted last night, ‘Rest in peace Pat. A true gentleman and an inspirational person, sleep well. Thoughts and prayers with his family and friends.’
A self-effacing champion, Smullen’s first Classic was provided by the brilliant stayer Vinnie Roe in the Irish St Leger of 2001; they would win that race three more times in succession.
Ascot Gold Cup glory was gained with Rite Of Passage in 2010, Grey Swallow added the 2005 Tattersalls Gold Cup to his victory in the Irish Derby of 12 months earlier, and there were two Irish 1,000 Guineas wins, with Nightime (2006) and Bethrah (2010).
Casual Conquest (2009) was another Tattersalls Gold Cup winner, while lightly-raced but brilliant Free Eagle came good in the 2015 Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Highly regarded by all in racing, Smullen took over as stable jockey to Weld in 1999 from another riding great, Mick Kinane
Smullen died at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin and is survived by his wife Frances and their children Hannah, Paddy and Sarah.
Meanwhile, dual Grade Onewinning hurdler Petit Mouchoir will move to Gordon Elliott’s yard after being sold as part of the annual Gigginstown House Stud dispersal at the Goffs UK September Sale.
Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, who announced last year that he was scaling back his racing operations, sent a large team of horses to be sold without reserve at Doncaster on Tuesday.
The undoubted star of the squad was the nine-year-old Petit Mouchoir — the winner of five races since joining Henry de Bromhead, including the 2017 Irish Champion Hurdle at Leopardstown.
While winless in almost three years, the grey has been running well in defeat in 2020, finishing placed behind then stablemate Honeysuckle in the Irish Champion Hurdle in February, fifth in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham and third in the Galway Hurdle last time out.
Petit Mouchoir will return to Ireland after being knocked down to bloodstock agent Mouse O’Ryan and Elliott for £70,000.
‘He’s been bought for an existing owner in the yard,’ said O’Ryan.
‘He’s a star and as long as he stays safe and sound, he’ll be able to go for all those big races on a Sunday in Ireland.’