DERMOT WELD, trainer

“Pat Smullen was just a very, very special man, with regards to the world of horse racing, and to me personally. He was unique.

“In this day and age, his loyalty and integrity stood out. He was my stable jockey for 20 years and he was just the professional’s professional. His detail, his determination, his bravery – he was a very principled man, a family man.

“On the racetrack, he was an excellent jockey, champion nine times in Ireland, but you also saw in England, some of the wonderful rides he gave horses. Rite Of Passage – two spectacular rides at Ascot. He won the English 2000 Guineas on Refuse To Bend and that [horse’s name] typified the man. It was typical of him, right to the very end as he fought pancreatic cancer, he showed this will to win, this belief, this determination and he was able to impart that determination into the horses he rode.”

KEVIN O’RYAN, jockeys’ agent and brother-in-law

“He never ever, ever, once gave out or complained or asked ‘why me?’ He fought his illness with the determination, the drive, the stubbornness that he was always known for throughout his career.

“I came straight up from Tipperary last night and it was just great to be able to spend the last few minutes with, not only one of my best friends, but someone who was a second brother to me.

“By God, I’m going to miss the chats that we used to have three or four times a day. Frances and Angela used to say they got all the gossip and information from earwigging conversations between myself and Pat. They used to say the two of us spoke more to each other than we spoke to them!

“I owe him so much. He touched so many people from so many different walks of life and, by God, we’re all going to miss him.”

RUBY WALSH, former jockey

“Pat was incredibly dedicated. At times he wasn’t filled with self-belief. He had to do his homework and was always grateful for what he achieved. There was times he doubted himself as well, and he had to overcome that, but he was just a very good rider.

“He was extremely punctual, hardworking, he was always spotlessly clean. He was a great communicator. He didn’t have just one thing, he had a lot of everything which made him so good. He was great judge of pace, he was always tacticallly in the right place. He was also very detailed and deep in everything he did. He put a lot of thought and effort into what he did.

“He was a big character in the weigh room. He was a great man for the Jockeys Association and for Irish Injured Jockeys. He was a great man for advice for a young apprentice. He led by example. All through his career, you never saw a headline or story about Pat for the wrong reasons.”

JOHNNY MURTAGH, former

champion jockey

“When he was first coming up, I was at the top and we didn’t really see eye-to-eye. When I came back from England and he was champion, then we definitely didn’t see eye-to-eye!

“There were some great tussles. He was the guy you had to beat. He was the guy that turned up every day 110%, whether it was Monday at Roscommon, Friday at Dundalk or Leopardstown at the weekend – he was Pat Smullen, ready to go, and if you wanted to match that, there was going to be no easy way.

“He was a true professional. We bumped into each other lots of times and had lots of disagreements but deep down I loved the guy.”

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

“The Minister for Agriculture, Food and Marine, Mr Charlie McConalogue, T.D., together with his Ministerial colleagues Mr Martin Heydon T.D. and Senator Pippa Hackett, are greatly saddened by the news of the untimely death of the nine-time champion jockey Pat Smullen.

“Their first thoughts are with Pat’s wife Frances, children Hannah, Paddy and Sarah, his wider family, his close friends and colleagues in the weigh room, trainer Dermot Weld and all the staff at Rosewell House to whom they wish to express their personal sympathies.

“Pat will always be remembered as an exceptional and outstanding jockey, who was Irish champion jockey nine times and won numerous Grade 1 races worldwide. Notwithstanding his racing achievements, the Ministerial team will also remember Pat for his outstanding fundraising efforts through Cancer Trials Ireland which will benefit many people in the future. May he rest in peace.”

BRIAN KAVANAGH, chief executive of Horse Racing Ireland

“Pat was an inspiration for the selfless way that he faced up to the most awful of diagnoses and his fundraising efforts through Cancer Trials Ireland will benefit many people in the future.

“The Pat Smullen Charity Raceday will go down in the annals of Irish racing as one of the best days ever at the Curragh. For Pat to be taken from us at such a young age is hard to comprehend. His memory will live long wherever horse racing is discussed. May he rest in peace.”

FRAN BERRY, former jockey and presenter

“In the saddle his strengths were his sheer determination and tactically he was very astute. He was strong in the finish and had the full skillset, but I was always impressed with his mindset, his total determination that he wasn’t going to get beat.

“He had that from riding ponies and all the way through to replacing Mick Kinane as stable jockey to Dermot Weld. He had huge shoes to fill there but not only filled them but made the job his own.

“Pat also did an awful lot of work for the Jockeys’ Association. He was always at the meetings, at the end of the phone for any young riders who needed help. Even when he retired he was still there to offer advice and mentor the next generation.”

AIDAN O’BRIEN, champion trainer and brother-in-law

“He was a very special person, the type you only meet once in a lifetime. He was an unbelievable horseman who helped everybody. He was very sincere. Nothing about Pat was false, He was true to everyone and that is why he was so admired. We felt privileged to know him and to be part of his family. He will never be forgotten.

“In 2016 he beat us in two Derbys, at Epsom and the Curragh. We did all in our power for that not to happen but Pat had it sussed out and he had the skill and the power to make it happen. Looking back now, we are so delighted that he got to experience those days.”