Nine-time Irish champion jockey Pat Smullen will be honoured with a race in his name at Newmarket next week.

The racecourse will stage the Pat Smullen Memorial Handicap as part of the schedule for day one of the three-day fixture, starting on Tuesday, April 13.

The handicap will take place on the Rowley Mile, where Smullen recorded his first British Classic victory with Refuse To Bend in the 2000 Guineas in 2003.

Ted Durcan, who was friends with Smullen and was behind the name of the race, said: "There were a lot of people in England at the time of Pat's funeral who weren't able to pay their respects with the Covid restrictions.

“I know many of us would have liked to have been able to hold a memorial service, which we weren't able to do, and this is hopefully a nice way to remember Pat.”

Smullen died last September aged 43 following a battle with pancreatic cancer.