Pat Smullen

Vinnie Roe, who won the G1 Irish St Leger from 2001-2004, has died. The pensioned son of Definite Article was 27. Bred by Virginia Moeran, the bay was out of Kayu (Tap On Wood) and sold for 48,000gns as a foal. In 1999, he made IR£50,000 to subsequent trainer Dermot Weld at Goffs. Vinnie Roe carried the silks of Irish film director Jim Sheridan and Antonio Balzarini, and was partnered by the legendary late Irish jockey Pat Smullen in all bar one of his 29 starts. A stakes winner and...

This Saturday sees the inaugural running of the Irish EBF Pat Smullen Stakes at Naas, with the Listed contest having attracted eight runners from seven different stables.  Run over a mile, the race is part of the Smullen Series, launched this year by the Irish EBF and consisting of 18 middle-distance races for two- and three-year-olds. Daytona (Wootton Bassett), a winning debutant last month at Gowran Park, is among the field and his trainer Aidan O'Brien was keen to target the race which is named in honour of his late...

During 2019, we were fortunate to have Pat Smullen as a regular and immensely popular columnist for TDN. The struggle the former champion jockey faced in his life at that stage never coloured the effort and enthusiasm he put into reporting his weekly thoughts and valuable insights on racing.  One aspect that really shone through was how much he was dedicated to encouraging the younger members of the weighing-room, not to mention boosting the profile of the sport as a whole. That determination to help others was seen again in...

Professor Grainne O'Kane was appointed the inaugural Pat Smullen Chair in Pancreatic Cancer at University College Dublin, Cancer Trials Ireland announced on Friday. The new position will anchor expertise in pancreatic research in Ireland, with the ambition of creating a global centre of excellence for the treatment and research of this form of cancer. The role will allow O'Kane to divide her time between clinical work as a treating physician at St Vincent's University Hospital and research work at UCD School of Medicine, where she will work to identify, attract,...

A total of 20 jockeys have been confirmed for the Pat Smullen Cancer Trials Ireland Charity Race at the Curragh on Saturday, Aug. 31. Part of the Pat Smullen Race Day in aid of Cancer Trials Ireland, the race, supported by the Breeze-Up Consigners Association and Smullen's son Paddy, is just one of the events and activities that will raise funds for the leading cancer research trials organisation in Ireland. The riders, who have to raise a minimum of €3,000 for the charity, will ride over the world famous 12...

Frances Crowley has ruled out a full scale return to the training ranks and described sending out her first runner in 16 years at Leopardstown on Friday as "just a bit of fun" with the ultimate goal being to provide her daughter Hannah with a breakthrough victory in the saddle.  Wife of the late Pat Smullen, a nine-time champion jockey in Ireland, Crowley created history in 2005 when she became the first woman to win a Classic race in Ireland with Saoire storming to a memorable triumph in the 1,000...

The Pat Smullen race day, which will raise funds to aid Cancer Trials Ireland, will take place at the Curragh on Saturday, Aug. 26. Racegoers will have the opportunity to attend a post-race party with the band Superfly. Pat Smullen's daughter Hannah, former amateur jockey Kate Harrington and Olympian Sue Shortt are among 15 riders participating in the 12-furlong Pat Smullen Cancer Trials Ireland charity race supported by The Grafton Hotel, who are all raising funds individually. The race is held in memory of a family member or friend who...

Four summers ago, TDN had the privilege of having Pat Smullen as our weekly columnist. It would be easy to imagine that someone with as much knowledge of the racing game as the nine-time Irish champion jockey would just reel off a few thoughts and consider it job done, but that was not the way with Smullen. 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,...

Cancer Trials Ireland, the national organisation dedicated to advancing cancer clinical trials, will create a new position to anchor expertise in pancreatic research in Ireland with the ambition of creating a global centre for treatment and research for a form of cancer with some of the poorest outcomes--the Pat Smullen Chair in Pancreatic Cancer at University College Dublin. 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...

Tom Lacy received a heartwarming reception at the Irish Thoroughbred Breeders' Association Awards last week. And rightly so. A legendary figure in Irish racing, Lacy rode 50 winners on the Flat and found only Arkle and Flyingbolt too good aboard Height Of Fashion in two Irish Grand Nationals.  As a trainer, Lacy sent out hundreds of winners from Rhode, County Offaly, including Ingabelle (GB), who later became a hugely important foundation mare at Ballylinch Stud. His sons Barry and Tony rode multiple winners for the stable down through the years....

The Coast to Curragh charity cycle will be run for a second year in aid of Cancer Trials Ireland on Saturday, August 27, where the legendary Pat Smullen will be remembered on the day. The Curragh have dedicated the August 27 fixture to the nine-time Irish champion jockey and the racecourse chief Brian Kavanagh revealed that he hopes to grow the event. The Coast to Curragh Cycle, which raised more than €185,000 last year, starts at Laytown Racecourse at 8am taking in seven racecourses and two stud farms in total,...

It is a year of important milestones for Moyglare Stud, most notably the 60th anniversary of its foundation by Swiss businessman and philanthropist Walter Haefner. The 50th running of the G1 Moyglare Stud S. will also take place on Sept. 11 at the Curragh, the famed Irish racecourse and training grounds which have been the beneficiary of significant support from Eva-Maria Bucher Haefner, who took over the running of Moyglare on her father's death, at the age of 101, a decade ago in June 2012. A passionate equestrian who took...