Legacy

Pat Smullen was one of the good guys. In a game containing more than its share of two-faced, main-chance merchants, the nine-times champion jockey was a transparently decent person. That Pat was a man of integrity has been a common thread as so many have struggled to come to terms with his devastating loss aged just 43. But it's only one part of a colossal legacy.

His passing prompted innumerable memories. For those who recognised the coiled figure just from the TV screen, perhaps that defining Derby success on Harzand is the defining image. There were so many others from a career that saw him master the profession like few ever have. Those who crossed his path also had the good fortune to encounter that innate decency and courtesy.

Pat could usually be relied upon for a reasonable perspective if pressed for an opinion on something. He hardly looked for such attention. Indeed there were times when the glare on his face warned that now definitely wasn't a good time. But just as his was always an opinion rooted in fair-minded judgement, it also came from someone appreciative of the straightforward.

It is a point that has been repeatedly pointed out by those who knew him really well. He had the substance to say what he meant and mean what he said. But not with any kind of bluster and invariably with civility. He was an easy man to like. To those who loved him, the sense of his loss must be dreadful.

Our own paths passed occasionally over the years. There was a book about Ireland's greatest jockeys that naturally included him. Trying to get across the scale of his achievement, I pointed out the significance in rural Ireland of how his father used to work as a labourer on a farm in Co. Offaly that his son eventually wound up purchasing.

It felt like touchy material so I sent it to Pat first to see if he was OK with it. His reply was elegant, encouraging and everything I could have hoped. That was typical of the man. So too was his reply one Sunday morning in Dublin airport as we flew out to the Arc. I witlessly asked him if he fancied a bite of breakfast. "I gave up on eating a long time ago!" he grinned.

The bitter reality behind that statement is a lonely reality for all jockeys. Pat was no different. But the resolve behind it ensured him of a place among the triumvirate of outstanding Irish riders of the modern era. Another memory is of almost exactly 18 years ago at Listowel and an otherwise ordinary three horse race featuring the trio of Kinane, Murtagh and Smullen.

If the horses involved weren't great then the concentration of excellence in the saddle was unparalleled.

The courage and class Pat exhibited in his struggle against cancer was remarkable and has been rightly and widely remarked upon. It was desperately unfair that such fortitude was necessary. But this is a disease as capricious as it is deadly. Knowing that though doesn't always provoke the sort of grace that one of sport's finest stars exhibited in adversity.

There are far more bitter elements to his passing than regret at what more he might have achieved in the saddle. However John Oxx was correct to point out that much of Europe was only waking up to the talents that had been obvious here for years, and how an already great career had seemed to be coming to its height only for illness to strike.

His legacy though is secure, both in and out of the saddle, and will include the sense of privilege even those who'd only slight contact with Pat Smullen will always have for having known such a brave and fine man.

In the circumstances it's jarring to consider anything so relatively inconsequential as the perception of the betting public. It's not like it's a single amorphous entity either. Opinions normally come down to the contents of individual pockets and whether or not one is in on the details of any tale that might be considered 'colourful.'

Sure enough opinion on Dreal Deal's gambled-on success at Navan on Saturday has ranged from outrage to delight at a punt coming off. There has also been a smattering of acknowledgement that making the most of being ahead of the handicapper is as old as racing itself and, in fact, that the system all but encourages it.

But on the face of things, it's still a tough sell in terms of punter confidence.

Dreal Deal is an ex-point to pointer whose six starts over hurdles were undistinguished by any standard. A pair of eighth-place finishes were the best of them. Four starts on the flat this summer saw the Ronan McNally trained horse finish out of the money every time, twice at odds of 100-1 and once each at 200-1 and 250-1. The last of them was over seven furlongs at Cork last month.

Six weeks later he pitches up at Navan for a two and three quarter mile handicap hurdle off a mark of 84, is reportedly backed from 20-1 overnight into 6-4 favourite, and absolutely dots up. As in ridiculously dots up. From having all but lost his rider at the first flight and dropped back to last, the horse never came off the bridle to practically win with his mouth open.

McNally subsequently provided the stewards a detailed account of how his string had been affected by a fungal infection in the spring and how time off had benefitted them all, including Dreal Deal. He also told Racing TV a day later that he had backed the horse himself at 3-1 and 6-4 but that there was no gamble at 20-1. The Co. Armagh trainer also pointed out that a hundred quid could move a horse from 20-1 to 12-1 in today's markets.

The matter has been referred up the system. That's something at least. In June, after the Emmet Mullins trained Pilbara similarly dotted up at Tipperary after a hefty gamble, an unwritten rule in apparent improvement in form cases about not pursuing them if a horse hasn't run in over three months meant nothing happened at all.

What emerges is impossible to predict. Maybe everything will check out. It's always important to remember that perception is a fluctuating item. Appearances can be deceptive. There is also plenty evidence to suggest that official action often comes down to plenty movement without a lot of action.

The IHRB's decision earlier this year to out-source investigating betting patterns to the BHA might introduce a different element. But it's worth remembering too how that is also the case with the IHRB's examination of the Yuften/Tony The Gent race at Dundalk in March and there's still no sign of anything in relation to that six months later.

For the moment though it seems a lot of prejudices about Irish racing have been confirmed in the eyes of a lot of people. Whether they're right is another matter for debate. No matter where you are, the thing with perception is that it's often about what you choose or want to see.