Pat Smullen: family considering release of charity single in honour of top rider

Wednesday marks the first anniversary of the death of nine-time champion jockey Pat Smullen and the weighing-room titan might yet inspire an unlikely entry in the music charts.

Smullen's tragic passing at just 43 years of age following a battle with pancreatic cancer came exactly one year after a remarkable fundraising event in his honour at the Curragh for which the great and the good in racing turned out in their droves to support Cancer Trials Ireland.

Fittingly, Smullen was remembered on Sunday when Declan McDonogh and Donagh O'Connor, along with the bulk of the weighroom and the Newbridge Gospel Choir, paid a beautiful tribute to their departed friend by covering Ben E King's Stand By Me. The Curragh buzz fell silent as the stirring recording was broadcast on the PA system and shown on screens throughout the course.

The tribute, which was also aired on RTE Racing and has more than 14,000 views on Youtube, was the brainchild of Horse Racing Ireland's Barbara White.

Smullen's wife Frances Crowley chose Stand By Me and revealed her ambition to get the piece released as a single in an effort to raise more funds for Cancer Trials Ireland.

She explained: "It was all Barbara White' idea. She got the gospel choir involved and we chose the song for them to sing. She also managed to cajole the jockeys into taking part.

"They were all apprehensive to start with but they all seemed to enjoy it in the end. Declan McDonogh and Donagh O'Connor were pushed well outside their comfort zone by performing solos but they did a fantastic job and it worked really well."

She added: "We had people asking us if we were releasing it and that's what put the idea into our heads. Wouldn't it be great if we could raise some more funds for Cancer Trials Ireland? We've put the idea out there and hopefully something comes of it."

Frances Crowley: 'We still feel Pat's here and that's been a big help'

Crowley said Stand By Me encapsulated the feelings of those closest to Smullen throughout the past year, with friends and family still feeling his presence to this day.

She explained: "It has been a quick year but, to be honest, we don't feel like he's gone at all. That's why we chose the song Stand By Me. If one of the lads got up in a close finish or something, I'd be getting text messages from them saying stuff like, 'Pat was on my shoulder today'. We all feel that he's still by our side."

McDonogh, one of Smullen's closest friends and rivals, gave a powerful performance and said the willingness of everyone to take part in the recording was a measure of the man.

Participants in the Coast to Curragh cycle in memory of Pat Smullen at the Galway festival in JulyCredit: Patrick McCann

He said: "It shows the regard everyone had for Pat. It's an emotional time of year for everyone and the lads were only too willing to record the song. They seemed to really enjoy it and they were buzzing afterwards. You could feel the power in the room with all the different voices. It was something different and we enjoyed it.

"It would be huge if we could make any more money for the charity. Anything we can do, we would only be too happy to do it. The year has flown by. A few of us are meeting for dinner this evening to mark it. We never managed to do it last year as a group because of Covid so we will be doing some reminiscing this evening."

The Coast To Curragh charity cycle will be run in Smullen's name on September 25 with all proceeds going directly to Cancer Trials Ireland.

Crowley added: "It's great that people are continuing to raise money in Pat's name and, equally, Pat would be delighted if they were using his name to raise more money for the cause. It's also keeping Pat's name alive, which is great."

Read more on Pat Smullen:

Racing in mourning following the death of Pat Smullen

'Pat was the professional's professional' – Dermot Weld hails trusted partner

John Oxx and Johnny Murtagh pay tribute as racing mourns a unique talent

'You always did your best. Always' – Crowley's eulogy to heroic Pat Smullen

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