10 July 2023 , 16:01
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Over £2 million raised by the legendary Pat Smullen before the champion jockey died of pancreatic cancer is being used to fund new efforts to explore treatments for the deadly disease.
Smullen, the nine time champion of Ireland whose multiple Classic successes included the Derby on Harzand in 2016, passed away in September 2020 at the age of 43.
He stopped riding after being diagnosed in March 2018 and immediately set about fundraising for pancreatic cancer trials and awareness of pancreatic cancer research.
He was at the centre of a drive by the Irish horse racing and breeding industry over Champions Weekend in September 2019 which helped raise more than £2.2 million.
Cancer Trials Ireland, the organisation dedicated to advancing cancer clinical trials, has now created the Pat Smullen Chair in Pancreatic Cancer at University College Dublin.
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The new position will anchor expertise in pancreatic research in Ireland with the ambition of creating a global centre of excellence for treatment and research of this form of cancer which has one of the poorest outcomes.
“The Pat Smullen Pancreatic Cancer Fund arises from various fundraising endeavours undertaken by champion jockey, Pat Smullen, his family, and the horse racing community, following his diagnosis with pancreatic cancer in March 2018,” said Cancer Trials Ireland’s CEO, Eibhlín Mulroe.
The Smullen family, including Pat Smullen's wife Frances Crowley (third from right) (Gareth Chaney)“Sadly, Pat died in September 2020, but his legacy lives on and the fund he created has now provided new treatment options for 174 patients with pancreatic cancer, at no cost to themselves, or to the State.”
Cancer Trials Ireland hope the position will attract a world expert on pancreatitis cancer with the national cancer programme matching the sum put forward by the Smullen fund.
Smullen’s wife Frances Crowley said: "The aim is to put pancreatic cancer research onto a more stable and promising footing, and I know that’s what Pat wanted to achieve when we set about the fundraising activities over Irish Champions Weekend in 2019.
“Thanks to the unswerving support of the horse racing community, Pat’s friends, and many others whose lives have been affected by pancreatic cancer, we are able to make the long-term funding commitment that the Pat Smullen Chair in Pancreatic Cancer needs.
"We are very excited for the future.”