Patrick Joseph Smullen (22 May 1977 – 15 September 2020), was an Irish jockey who won the

Irish flat racing Champion Jockey The Champion Jockey of flat racing in Ireland is the jockey who has ridden the most winning horses during a season. The list below shows the Champion Jockey for each year since 1950. Champion Jockeys since 1950 * 1950 - J W Thompson * 1951 ...

title nine times. In a career running from 1992 to 2018 he rode 1,845 winners in Ireland and 47 in Britain. Amongst his biggest successes were riding Harzand to victories in the

Epsom Derby The Derby Stakes, also known as the Epsom Derby or the Derby, and as the Cazoo Derby for sponsorship reasons, is a Group 1 flat horse race in England open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It is run at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Surrey ...

and

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distanc ...

in 2016. He was stable jockey to

Dermot Weld Dermot K. Weld (born 29 July 1948), a former jockey is one of Ireland's most successful racehorse trainers. He holds the record for the most winners trained in Ireland (2,578 set in August 2000). Weld maintains his stable, Rosewell House, in ...

from 1999 until 2018.

Background and apprenticeship

Smullen was born in County Offaly and was introduced to riding and racing by his brother Sean, who worked for trainer Joanna Morgan. He was then apprenticed to local trainer Tommy Lacy, who provided him with his first winner, Vicosa, at Dundalk in 1993. Smullen won the Irish apprentice championship in 1995 and 1996.

Career

Smullen spent two years as a stable jockey to

John Oxx John M. Oxx (born 14 July 1950) is a retired Irish trainer of thoroughbred racehorses. By the end of the 2009 season Oxx had trained 35 Group One winners over his career, including the winners of 11 Classic races. He is best known as the train ...

, winning his first Group 1 race, the

Moyglare Stud Stakes The Moyglare Stud Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 metres), and it is schedul ...

, on

Tarascon Tarascon (; ), sometimes referred to as Tarascon-sur-Rhône, is a commune situated at the extreme west of the Bouches-du-Rhône department of France in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Inhabitants are referred to as Tarasconnais or Tara ...

for trainer

Tommy Stack Tommy Stack (born 15 November 1945 in Moyvane, County Kerry, Ireland) is a former National Hunt racing jockey and trainer. As a jockey, he is probably best known for piloting Red Rum to a third Grand National victory. Stack was National Hunt Cha ...

the Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the f ...

in 1997. In 1999 he became first jockey to trainer

, a position he retained until his retirement in 2018. He was Irish champion jockey in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2014, 2015 and 2016, a total of nine times. Smullen's first Classic victory came in the Irish St. Leger in 2001 on Vinnie Roe for Dermot Weld. They went on to win the same race the next three years. A total of twelve European Classic wins included the 2016 Epsom Derby and Irish Derby on Harzand for Dermot Weld and owner the

Aga Khan Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Kari ...

. In May 2018 Smullen announced his retirement from race riding on medical advice, having undergone chemotherapy and surgery for pancreatic cancer the previous year. He had ridden 1,845 winners in Ireland and 47 in Britain.

Personal life

Smullen married Frances Crowley, trainer and amateur jockey, in 2001. They have three children, Hannah, Paddy and Sarah. In September 2019 Smullen organised a legends race at

to raise funds for pancreatic cancer trials and research. Two months later he was honoured at the 2019 Cartier Racing Awards with the Daily Telegraph Award of Merit. Smullen died aged 43 in Dublin on 15 September 2020.

Major wins

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

* Flying Five Stakes – (2) – ''Benbaun (2006, 2007)'' *

Irish 1,000 Guineas The Irish 1,000 Guineas is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres), and it is scheduled ...

– (2) – ''Nightime (2006), Bethrah (2010)'' *

Irish Derby The Irish Derby ( Irish: Dearbaí na hÉireann) is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distanc ...

– (2) – '' Grey Swallow (2004), Harzand (2016)'' *

Irish Oaks The Irish Oaks is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to three-year-old thoroughbred fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 4 furlongs (2,414 metres), and it i ...

– (1) – ''Covert Love (2015)'' * Irish St. Leger – (4) – '' Vinnie Roe (2001, 2002, 2003, 2004)'' * Matron Stakes – (2) – ''Dress to Thrill (2002), Emulous (2011)'' *

– (1) – ''Tarascon (1997)'' *

National Stakes The Vincent O'Brien National Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to two-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 7 furlongs (1,408 met ...

– (1) – '' Refuse to Bend (2002)'' * Pretty Polly Stakes – (1) – ''Chinese White (2010)'' * Tattersalls Gold Cup – (3) – ''Grey Swallow (2005), Casual Conquest (2009), Fascinating Rock (2016)'' ----

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

* Prix de l'Abbaye de Longchamp – (1) – ''Benbaun (2007)'' * Prix de l'Opéra – (1) – ''Covert Love (2015)'' * Prix Royal-Oak – (1) – '' Vinnie Roe (2001)'' ----

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

– (1) – '' Harzand ( 2016)'' *

2,000 Guineas The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 metres) and scheduled to take place each year ...

– (1) – ''Refuse to Bend (2003)'' *

Ascot Gold Cup The Gold Cup is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 2 miles 3 furlongs and 210 yards (4,01 ...

– (1) – ''

Rite of Passage A rite of passage is a ceremony or ritual of the passage which occurs when an individual leaves one group to enter another. It involves a significant change of status in society. In cultural anthropology the term is the Anglicisation of ''rite ...

(2010)'' *

Champion Stakes The Champion Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Ascot over a distance of 1 mile and 2 furlon ...

– (1) – ''Fascinating Rock (2015)'' * Prince of Wales's Stakes – (1) – '' Free Eagle (2015)'' *

Sun Chariot Stakes The Sun Chariot Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,609 ...

– (1) – ''Dress to Thrill (2002)'' ----

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

Breeders' Cup Marathon The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes, is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds and up, and contested on dirt at usually at a distance of miles. The race has a purse of US$350,000. It is run as part of the undercar ...

– (1) – ''Muhannak (2008)'' * Matriarch Stakes – (1) – ''Dress to Thrill (2002)''

References

Irish jockeys 1977 births 2020 deaths Sportspeople from County Offaly Lester Award winners Deaths from pancreatic cancer Deaths from cancer in the Republic of Ireland Cartier Award winners {{Ireland-horseracing-bio-stub