‘Fantastic’ Success Of Pat Smullen Race Day Shows Racing At Its Best The €351,631 raised by the 2025 Pat Smullen Race Day and the Curragh to Curragh Charity Cycle is “fantastic” and racing should do more similar initiatives. That is the view of the Irish Angle team, speaking on this week’s irishracing.com show after the total for 2025 was confirmed and brings the total raised by the initiative to €1.2 million since 2022. The Pat Smullen Cancer Trials Ireland Charity Race took place on the 29th August and was supported by the bike ride which saw over 150 people cycle 100km via three racecourses and two stud farms before returning to the Curragh for the race. “It’s a fantastic thing for everyone involved — between the cycle and everything else they’ve done on the day,” irishracing.com editor Vincent Finegan said. “I can never understand why racing doesn’t do more of this type of thing, because we’re fantastic at it as a sport. The people involved in the sport are terrific when they come together in these ways, but they don’t seem to do it often enough in my opinion.” Kudos To Those Involved “It was a brilliant result, first of all, and you have to commend everyone who was involved in pushing it along,” added Emma Nagle. “People in racing love to get behind a cause, and this one is close to everyone’s heart. Pat was obviously a legend of the sport, so you see big names getting behind it and that helps bring it to the general public. “You’ve got household names supporting it, and the cycle — which Gavin Lynch is a major part of — with the likes of AP McCoy and others taking part. I think Pat’s son, Paddy, finished close to the front this year as well, which was great to see. “Then there’s the charity race, which is a brilliant initiative. The riders each raise around €10,000, all going towards cancer trials. “When the racing community gets together and rallies behind a cause, you can see how well it can be done. This is a great example of that. “Like you said, maybe they could do more of it on other days too. It was a brilliant result, and everyone involved deserves huge credit.” ‘Incredible Money Raised’ Racing journalist Johnny Ward spoke of his experience doing the cycle in 2022 and hoped the initiative can carry on for years to come. He explained: “I took part in the cycle in the first year. “There are some great personalities involved. Unfortunately, I haven’t been involved since, but this is something racing should be very proud of. “It absolutely staggers me how prevalent cancer still is in 2025 and how difficult it seems to be to get to the bottom of curing it. These trials are a massive help in that regard. In fairness, people with a lot of money in racing have put significant funds into it. “When Pat Smullen’s first day was held at the Curragh, he was still alive, and it was an incredible event. “It’s hard for people like Gavin Lynch and others to keep organising these things, because there are so many charities competing for support. It’s not easy to keep asking people to donate. “But it’s a fantastic initiative, and incredible money has been raised at this stage for such a worthy cause.” The Impact Money raised throughout the years has directly supported the launch of the Pat Smullen Chair in Pancreatic Cancer at University College Dublin. The position is held by Professor Grainne O’Kane with the aim to make Ireland a global leader in pancreatic cancer research and treatment. The Pat Smullen Race Day will take place on Saturday, 29th August in 2026. Watch The Irish Angle In Full Or Listen On Spotify
