Yesterday was a tremendous day for Irish racing at the Curragh and proof of what Irish sport can achieve. On a wet and emotional Kildare day that featured some very famous faces, the Irish racing world came together to support Pat Smullen and raise more than a million euro to fight cancer.
The Champions Race for Cancer Trials was the highlight of the Champions Weekend at the Curragh. A number of Ireland's most iconic jockeys were briefly talked out of retirement, including AP McCoy, Johnny Murtagh and Ruby Walsh, for one last race. In the end, over €1.3m in total was raised for cancer research.
Smullen is 18-months into a battle with pancreatic cancer. Unfortunately, he was not well enough to ride in the race alongside Walsh and McCoy yesterday, but in an inspiring interview with RTÉ yesterday, he updated viewers on the progress of his fight against cancer.
Smullen's matter-of-fact strength in the face of such a terrifying disease is an inspiration: "You have to face it. What else do you do? Lie down and give up?"
Days like yesterday will no doubt give him incredible strength.
