Tributes paid to horse racing legend Kevin Prendergast after his death age 92
Kevin Prendergast, member of a famous racing dynasty, trained Classic winners in Ireland and Britain, and sent out his last runner just seven days ago
Tributes have been paid to multiple Classic-winning trainer Kevin Prendergast, who died on Friday at the age of 92, two weeks short of 93rd birthday. Prendergast, who took out a licence in 1963, was the son of the legendary Paddy 'Darkie' 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.
'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: '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."
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.'
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