PAT SMULLEN has three winners to make up on his big rival Johnny Murtagh in the race for the Irish flat jockeys championship and has just four meetings remaining in which to do it. But the reigning title holder has promised to “give it everything” in the attempt.
The 2011 championship ends at Leopardstown on Sunday week when the turf season winds up. There is also Leopardstown this Sunday and a pair of Dundalk meetings on the next two Friday nights.
Smullen rode a couple of winners at last Friday’s Dundalk meeting to cut Murtagh’s lead to just three – 77 to 74. In prizemoney terms, Smullen is actually ahead with over €1.6 million won in Ireland this year compared to Murtagh’s €1.4 million. However, the Co Offaly-based rider believes he has a major mountain to climb.
“There’s no point saying anything else. It’s going to be difficult. I would rather be three ahead than three behind with just four meetings to go. But those couple of winners at Dundalk have closed things up a little and given me some bit of a chance so I’ll be giving it everything,” Smullen said.
It looks like both jockeys will be on duty here for the rest of the season with no Breeders’ Cup commitments to take them away on the final weekend of the campaign.
Murtagh has the ride on the classic hope Born To Sea in Sunday’s Killavullan Stakes to look forward to but Smullen believes the Foxrock track could also offer him his best chance of winners on the title run-in, with Dermot Weld preparing a number of horses for those turf fixtures.
“It will be competitive racing at Leopardstown but I hope he will have some rides for me there. Maybe not so much at Dundalk,” Smullen said. “I don’t think there is a ride for me at the Breeders’ Cup. Obviously if one came up I would go but at present I’ll be at the four meetings.”
One jockey who will be on duty at the Breeders’ Cup is Kieren Fallon, who travels on to Kentucky after riding in next Tuesday’s Melbourne Cup. Fallon has been booked to ride the Mill Reef and Gimcrack winner Casper Netscher in the Juvenile Turf event at Churchill Downs. Alan McCabe’s runner was an unlucky loser behind Crusade in the Middle Park Stakes on his last start when flashing home to finish fifth.
“Kieren was unfortunately banned last time and Robert (Winston) has done a fantastic job on him all year. Kieren has said he is going out there so he will be the first choice and we have booked him to ride,” McCabe said.
Fallon is a big admirer of McCabe’s star juvenile: “He has a terrific cruising speed, which is a pre-requisite for the Breeders’ Cup races and he quickens like only class acts can. He is still improving and there is plenty of time between the Newbury race and Churchill Downs in the first week of November.”
