Tributes paid to legendary horse racing trainer Kevin Prendergast, who has died aged 92

Irish Independent

4 hours ago

Prendergast, who took out a licence in 1963, was the son of the legendary Paddy Prendergast - the first Irish-based trainer to become champion in Britain in 1963 and who saddled the winners of all the British Classics except the Derby.
Prendergast jnr cut his own swathe through the racing ranks, winning the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket with Nebbiolo in 1977 and taking the Irish equivalent twice, most recently with Awtaad in 2016. Like his father, he just missed out on the Derby when Madhmoon was beaten half a length by Anthony Van Dyck in 2019.
Both Awtaad and Madhmoon ran in the colours of the late Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum's Shadwell operation and were ridden by Chris Hayes, who had a long association with Prendergast.
He said: 'I started out calling him 'sir' and that moved on to boss and we had a very close relationship, especially in the latter years. He was like a father or grandfather figure and we spoke closely and candidly.
'I had the utmost respect for him. You could always ring Kevin at the drop of a hat and vice versa - he would have no problem ringing me even up to last week telling me if I had given one a good ride or a bad ride. I'd always enjoy ringing him up for a chat.
'The term legend is thrown about a bit loosely in this age and generation, but there is no other way to describe him.
'I had a second for him last week (aboard Glory To Be at Cork) and I was desperately hoping that our last ride together as it transpired would be a winning one, but we at least went out all guns blazing.
'I had a good chat with him afterwards and was actually planning to go in and sit on a few horses for him tomorrow so it's a sad day and I'm a little bit numb as I've known nothing but him in racing, it's a real end of an era.'
Hayes' first Group One success for Prendergast was La Collina, but it is memories of their Classic success together at the Curragh nine years ago with Awtaad which the 37-year-old treasures most from their long association.
Hayes continued: 'La Collina was my first Group One winner for Kevin, but Awtaad was the first horse that was mine - I inherited La Collina from Declan McDonogh.
'Obviously there were also some great days with Madhmoon who came after Awtaad. But Awtaad's Guineas was phenomenal.
'It was the old Curragh and the cheer we got on the way in, I haven't heard one like it since.
'I've been around a while and I never heard a cheer like that before that either and that cheer was all for Kevin and solely Kevin. People say it was for us, but it wasn't, it was for Kevin.
'He's a legend around Kildare and a legend in the racing game and people were 10 deep around the winner's enclosure desperate to congratulate him.
'When I got the news this morning I couldn't help but look back through some pictures from that day in the car. We had some phenomenal times together and today is a sad day.'
Shadwell's long-serving racing manager Angus Gold said: 'It's the end of an era and he was one of the great men of my lifetime, we had some wonderful days together.
'He was a huge character firstly, a consummate horseman and the horses invariably won best turned out. He was just a very good trainer.
'It was spectacular to see Awtaad win the Guineas and then he had Madhmoon nearly win the Derby, which he took very phlegmatically.
'The amount of stories he had, I used to love my mornings on the gallops with him. He knew what was going all all around the world as he had daughters living abroad.
'He'd seen it all, been there and done that. I went to see him about two months ago. He hadn't been very well last year but had made a remarkably recovery and was still sharp as a tack.'
Born in Australia on July 5, 1932, Prendergast was educated in Ireland but kicked off his racing career back in the southern hemisphere, where he was head lad to top trainer Frank Dalton.
He held that position for three years before returning home to establish himself as a leading amateur rider while serving as assistant trainer to his father.
After five years, Prendergast decided to strike out on his own in 1963 - and he did not have to wait long for his inaugural success, saddling Zara to win at Phoenix Park in May that year.
Pidget was the first to claim Classic gold for him in the 1972 Irish 1,000 Guineas, before going on to add the Irish St Leger to her tally later on that year.
After that Prendergast sent out the likes of Conor Pass (1973) and Oscar Schindler (1996 and 1997) to win two more Irish Legers, while Arctique Royal gave him another 1,000 win and Northern Treasure gave him a first Irish 2,000 Guineas in 1976.
Add into the mix top-drawer juveniles La Collina, Miss Beatrix, Termagant and Kingsfort and you get a feel for the kind of longevity Prendergast enjoyed.
One of the most consistent trainers in the Irish ranks, Prendergast sent out his 2,000th career winner in 2010.
As well as Hayes, the likes of Gary Halpin and Declan McDonogh also rode for Prendergast, demonstrating that he was not just an exceptional instructor of horses. The great Kieren Fallon began his riding career with Prendergast, serving as apprentice from 1982 to 1987 before moving on and eventually becoming a six-times champion jockey.