Pat Smullen, the nine-times Irish champion jockey and multiple Classic-winning rider has died, aged 43.
Smullen, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2018, died at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin on Tuesday evening.
Pat Smullen.
Photo: Patrick McCann 06.10.2017
His initial treatment had been positive, but he suffered a relapse and was forced to abandon plans to ride in the Pat Smullen Champions Race For Cancer Trials Ireland at the Curragh in September last year – an event that proved an overwhelming success.
Born in County Offaly, on 22 May 1977, Smullen, the son of a farmer and who became involved with horses at the age of 11, went on to form a formidable alliance with master trainer Dermot Weld, taking over in 1999 from another riding great – Mick Kinane.
Among their greatest triumphs was the Derby at Epsom in 2016 with Harzand. The pair went on to secure the Irish Derby and cement the legacy of a rider who enjoyed his first victory at Dundalk on 11 June 1993.
Smullen leaves behind his wife, Frances, and their three children – Hannah, Paddy and Sarah.
- Excerpt from the Guardian
