THE lowest moment of Leigh Roche’s career in the saddle came in the spring of 2018 not long after Ireland’s champion flat jockey had taken seriously ill.

Over two years later, horse racing lost legendary rider Pat Smullen to pancreatic cancer, casting a pall over the sport in Ireland and beyond.

Stable jockey to the powerful Dermot Weld stable for almost 20 years, Smullen’s passing obviously left a major void to be filled in the yard.

But there was no rush on that decision by the former ‘King of Ballybrit’ as the flat season was nearing a conclusion.

Roche had been the stable’s number two jockey for almost a decade and wouldn’t have been human if he hadn’t coveted the top job in Weld’s stable.

The Tuam native had established himself as one of the leading jockeys on the Irish scene since steering home his first winner on Fairy Flow at Navan for the Joanna Morgan stable as a 16-year-old in February of 2008.

He has enjoyed loads of big-race glory in the interim, notably a Group 3 success on Big Break – trained by Weld – in the Concorde Stakes at Tipperary in 2014.

The now 33-year-old was also victorious on Voleuse De Coeurs in the Irish Cesarewitch at the Curragh two years previously, while Roche also landed the last-day Galway Summer Festival feature, the Ahonoora Handicap, on Northern Rocked in August of 2013.

In terms of prizemoney, the biggest win of Roche’s career came in September of 2021 when the Michael O’Callaghan trained King XJ took the spoils in the €300,000 Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Series at the Curragh.

By the time Smullen passed away in September of 2022, Roche had already split with Weld and is refreshingly honest about the break-up.

“At times, I probably didn’t help myself. I was riding winners, had a few quid in the pocket and thought this was going to last forever. I could have been more dedicated.”

When Smullen was diagnosed with cancer, Roche had hopes of taking over as stable jockey, but he was soon deflated when Weld brought in former champion Declan McDonagh.

“At first, we were sharing the rides about 50/50, but it gradually became 70/30 in Declan’s favour. I found it a bit frustrating, and I guess my patience ran out.

With opportunities drying up, Roche decided to leave the Weld operation before spending a couple of winters riding successfully – he had about 40 winners – around the tracks in Mumbai, India.

Pictured: Galway flat jockey Leigh Roche who has ridden around 300 winners world-wide during a successful career.