THIS is the final issue of the paper until Saturday, January 4th. A new year and a new decade will have been heralded by then and it is the time to wish everyone well for the year and years ahead.

Last weekend and in this issue we have been looking back at highlights of 2019, of which there have been many. In spite of many pressures on our sport and industry, there were no end of reasons to celebrate over the last 12 months. The ups and downs for me, on the racing front, were most vividly portrayed by the story of one horse, Espoir D’Allen.

In March he cemented the arrival of Gavin Cromwell among the leading trainers when he landed the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, and did so with panache, running out a 15-length winner. A few months later and this undoubted star was dead, a cruel blow for Gavin, owner JP McManus and all the team at the yard.

However, for me every racing and breeding story was eclipsed by that of Pat Smullen. One of the good guys in our sport, the popular Co Offaly native has been the backbone of the success enjoyed for the past two decades by the team at Rosewell House.

Pat’s loyalty to Dermot Weld and his owners was rewarded in spades, and never more deservedly, when he won the Derby at Epsom on Harzand.

Then in May the unthinkable happened and Pat had to face the fact that his career as a professional jockey, one of the best of his era, was at an end following a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer. When an athlete has an end forced to their career, rather than exit at a time of their own choosing, it is a particularly bitter pill to swallow.

It was no different in the case of Pat Smullen, but what has happened in the subsequent months has been nothing short of phenomenal. He has turned a huge negative into a positive, and in the process given hope to himself and to countless others. He has raised millions for Cancer Trials Ireland, while also fighting his own personal battle.

The way that he has carried himself, with untold support from his wife Frances, children and family, has been exemplary. It has been one of my biggest privileges since I started with The Irish Field in 2003 that Pat agreed to speak so candidly and honestly about the past year. His story will give hope to many and I wish him all that is good in the years ahead. He is my star of 2019.