How Pat Smullen helped Ireland's next generation of jockeys make their mark

Five years have passed since the late Pat Smullen won his second Irish Derby on Harzand, his final Group 1 success and 12th Classic victory, and his wife Frances Crowley has spoken about how his latter years were spent bringing through the next generation of jockeys including Ben Coen and Andy Slattery.

Crowley was speaking about her legendary husband for a poignant interview in Sunday's Racing Post in which she recalls the highs and lows of being married to one of the greatest Flat jockeys Ireland has ever produced and gives an insight into the rollercoaster journey her family went on after Smullen was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in March 2018.

Teenager Coen celebrated a first Royal Ascot victory on Create Belief in the Sandringham and will ride the Johnny Murtagh-trained Earlswood in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (3.45) on Saturday.

Crowley said: "Pat, I'd say, was a big help to the young guys, the apprentices. Andy [Slattery] might have been the first one to ring him I think, then maybe Ben, and then a whole load of them started ringing him. 'Do you mind if I ring you?' they'd ask and, of course, Pat wouldn't mind at all.

Legendary rider Pat Smullen celebrates after winning the Irish Derby on Harzand in 2016Credit: Caroline Norris

"In the end, he had all these young fellas ringing him and wanting to go through races with him so he would have to sit down and watch each and every one of the races they rode in so he was able to talk through them and give the lads feedback. They were so keen to know what he thought. Were they doing the right thing? What did they do wrong? What would he have done? What could they do to improve?

"They all looked up to him, you see. If he felt that one of the young lads wanted to learn and wanted to improve, he was always more than happy to help."

Smullen himself used to seek advice during his glory days and he would look no further than the woman by his side.

"Even a top jockey doubts himself," Crowley explained. "They wonder whether they should have done this or should have done that. I'd try to be honest with Pat but I always had it in the back of my mind that confidence is such a big thing with jockeys. I understood that. It was really important for him to know that even if something went wrong that there was probably a reason for it.

"I would be good to read a race and we used to read a race very similarly. If we were watching a race live together we would almost turn to each other at the same time and say the same thing."

Read more from Frances Crowley in the Big Read, available online for Members' Club Ultimate subscribers from 6pm on Saturday or in Sunday's Racing Post newspaper. Join Members' Club here.

Read more on Pat Smullen:

Pat Smullen honoured as Curragh jockeys' room is named in memory of riding great

In adversity, Pat Smullen went from a racing icon to a national treasure

Pat Smullen: a racing great whose legacy will endure both on and off the track

'It wasn't all about coming back to ride horses – it was just about coming back'

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