Champions warm up for Pat Smullen race Five legendary champion jockeys warmed up for the Pat Smullen Champions Race for Cancer Trials Ireland at the Curragh on Sunday, September 15th with a spin up Joseph O'Brien's famous gallops on Owning Hill this morning. A stellar line up will compete in the charity contest on Champions Weekend and five of the riders were on hand to promote the event at the Piltown yard this morning. Charlie Swan, Ruby Walsh, Paul Carberry, Tony McCoy and O'Brien himself were back in the saddle ahead of the race over a mile at HQ. They will be joined at the Curragh on Sunday week by fellow champions Johnny Murtagh, Richard Hughes, Kieren Fallon and Ted Durcan. Speaking to journalist Dave Keena the former champions left us in no doubt that the event will be competitive and they all jumped at the chance to be part of it. Tony McCoy had vowed never to return to the saddle after his final winner but answered the call when contacted by Smullen. “I said four years ago after I rode in the race at Doncaster that it would be the last time I'd ever ride a horse and I genuinely meant it. “Even for a little while afterwards I kind of struggled mentally and I enjoyed myself a little bit too much. “I'm obviously a bit too old now and a bit past the stage of being a jockey but it's exceptional circumstances, tough circumstances, and obviously circumstances we wish we'd never find ourselves in. “When he told me who was riding, it's a dream to be able to ride against the lads who are here. “We have all ridden against Pat in the past. It's a shame that unfortunately he's not going to be able to take part. “It's a brilliant line-up. It's pretty much the best of the best, it'll be hard to win as they wouldn't have ridden as many winners as they have if they didn't all want to win. “Joseph rightly pointed out that 'other than AP I'm the heaviest' so there is no doubt that I'm the heaviest. “I've lost a little bit of weight but that's probably going to be toughest challenge. I think I've got pretty fit but my excuse is that I'm getting more muscle and muscle is heavier than fat. “I suppose that if I am the heaviest there is a chance that I'll get on the best horse. “It'll be brilliant for the weekend and I think it will be brilliant for Irish racing. “First and foremost it's about raising awareness and trying to raise as many funds as we can for Pat and Cancer Trials Ireland. “Then most importantly for me it's about me winning it! “It's going to my last chance to probably ever get to ride a winner and the only chance I'll ever get to ride a winner at the Curragh. “I've ridden a few times there. My first ride at the Curragh finished second in October 1990. “I rode a horse called Nordic Wind, one of Jim (Bolger's), and Willie Supple beat me on another one called Heavy Beat so I haven't forgot it. “Hopefully I'll be able to right that wrong. I had a few rides at the Curragh but none of them successful so it's a good opportunity to ride a winner but it won't be easy. “I've been doing a lot of gym work of late and a lot of exercising. I've been in Nicky Henderson's, Jonjo O'Neill's and a few other places trying to get myself in shape. “I've ridden work in Lambourn a few times for Richard Hughes and Paul Webber, so I'm hoping fitness won't be the issue. “I just hopefully find myself a good horse. “The riders spread across a few decades and Joseph O'Brien will definitely never have ridden against Charlie Swan so there is a great spread of time as well as how long some of those lads dominated racing for as well. “The opportunity for a racing fan, or even a non-racing fan, to come out and watch them compete again, it should be a brilliant spectacle and hopefully we'll be able to make it that. “Growing up as a kid I always looked at the best jockeys and the lads riding in the race they are the best jockeys. “I've often said when I was riding that Charlie Swan was a brilliant race rider. He was a brilliant tactical race-rider. You can slag him a bit about not being the bravest in the world but tactically he was brilliant. “That's not taking away from the other lads, everyone knows what I think of them. There will be lads that wouldn't even remember that. Everyone know how brilliant Joseph O'Brien and Johnny are, they are all brilliant riders. “I'm not trying to make him feel like a oul lad but when I started riding over jumps Charlie Swan was technically brilliant. “It's a good opportunity to hopefully take him down a peg or two! “We've all ridden against Pat, even over jumps. “I've often slagged him about riding Plumbob when he fell in Naas. He came back in and threw the big heavy saddle back up on the table and told (valet) Dave Fox 'I won't ever need that again'. “That was the end of his jumping career and that was around the time I was ready to go to England, about mid-94. “Our paths have crossed a lot and it's exceptionally sad and tough circumstances that we've found ourselves in and we just have to try and make it the best race and weekend ever for him. “Hopefully we can raise as much awareness and make it as successful as we possibly can for Pat. That's what is most important.” “Hopefully he'll get a little bit of satisfaction out of the awareness and the funds that he will have raised. “It's obviously not going to make him better but it'll hopefully give him a little bit of self satisfaction and he can be very proud of the fact that he's done what he's done.” Ruby Walsh is hoping that being the most recently retired of the riders gives him a competitive advantage in the race:- “We were in Ascot and Pat told me what he was thinking of doing and for me there was only ever going to be one answer. “I've been great friends with Pat for a long time. At the time he asked me he was going to ride himself. “Of course I was delighted to take part. Obviously he's back having treatment again now so I think it's even more important. “It's incredible that all the guys are willing to do it. Pat obviously came up with the idea but I think AP might have had a little bit to do with the format it's taken. “It's a huge line-up. They are all world class jockeys with huge followings, especially Hughsie and Kieren Fallon who would have huge local followings to the Curragh. “As well as hopefully myself, AP, Paul, Charlie, Ted and Johnny. It's an incredible line-up. “It's a pity for us that Pat isn't riding with us. I think each and every one of us would have loved that and that's really what got us interested but I think with the ways things have moved along it's probably more important and we're even more eager now. “I think as much as we can dress this up to be as competitive as you want it to be it's for Pancreatic Cancer and to raise awareness for a cause. “Who wins and who doesn't win, the result probably won't have as big as baring, I hope, as what the day might have." Walsh has memories of being in the famous Piltown yard but it was a first for him on the gallop and also riding out with long-time friend Tony McCoy. “I had never actually been on this side of the hill before. When I did ride out for Frances Crowley, Pat Smullen's wife, it was always on the other side of the hill. “I didn't ride competitively very much with Joseph, Kieren or Richard Hughes even. Obviously I rode a lot with Paul, Charlie and AP but you'd never be in the same circles riding out. “I don't think I ever rode out with AP, or even schooled with him even. I did with Paul but didn't with Charlie so this is different. “They are the biggest names there are in racing so hopefully they'll attract the crowd but more importantly they will raise the money that Pat Smullen wants to raise for this charity. “There is a fair chance you won't see some of us again. It took Pat Smullen to get me to where I'm going to be on Sunday week. “People do give up their time and their money and this is a special cause and for a special person in my life.” Walsh only hung up his boots at the Punchestown festival in April and feels his has the fitness advantage. “I've probably lost some of my sharpness but it's a good few years since the opposition was riding so I think I have an advantage there. “However much I've lost in four months they've surely lost more in the years since they've retired! “I've been riding all summer and I'm still in Willie's. Am I as fit as I was five months ago — no, but I'd be fairly confident I'm fitter than the rest of these. “The last time I rode against AP would have been the day he retired. The last day I rode against Joseph he fell off one in a hurdle race. “The last time I rode with Johnny was in a maiden hurdle at Thurles and I beat him. “Paul, unfortunately I was riding in the race that he got hurt in and it ended his career. “I can't remember riding much with Hughsie or Kieren or Ted Durcan. But with the others I think I have the upper hand on most of them the last time we rode together. “For anybody that's gone to Galway and followed Pat Smullen or backed him in the Derby, you think of all the great things he's done as a jockey and he's basically asking you now to give him a hand.” Nine-time champion jump jockey Charlie Swan said:- “Pat is a great guy and everybody is effected by cancer so it was a no brainer to say yes especially with all the lads that are in it, it's great. “Anybody that was asked said yes straight away. It's for a good cause, Pat was a great jockey and a really nice guy too. “I still ride out the odd time and do a bit of hunting and stuff so I'm kept fit anyway. “We all like to keep fit. I've been doing a bit of running lately but I seem to be getting heavier the more running I do, so I better not run too much! “We're all still fairly competitive, some of us play Golf together and everybody wants to win. “I think Denis Hogan might have a horse for me, hopefully we'll get something anyway. “It's all for a good cause so I'm just going to enjoy it, hopefully have a good ride and don't end up on the floor! “I've done a couple of these types of races. I did the one in Punchestown, the John Shortt one, and done the two in Doncaster. “This race is going to be tricky because you have ten champion jockeys in it. They are not going to go off too mad or too fast so it's going to be a bit trickier and more tactical.” Paul Carberry is also looking forward to pulling back on his boots:- “I saw Pat being interviewed on telly and was hoping I'd get the call so I was delighted when I did. “There was never any question of me not riding in it anyway. “It's an unreal line-up and I'd say you'd never see it again. It's brilliant to be a part of it. “I ride out everyday at home, breaking and pre-training horses and then do the show-jumpers in the evenings so I'm never not riding out. “I'm fit enough and I was always naturally fit anyway so I should be alright. “It's great to be riding with them here today and it's going to be fun on the day of the race. I can't wait. “Pat has been a hell of a man, champion so many times, a great rider and a great ambassador for Flat racing.”
