LEGENDARY flat trainer Kevin Prendergast, who won multiple Classics in Britain and Ireland, has died aged 92.
He took out his licence in 1963 and saddled his final runner at Cork last week, when Glory To Be finished second.
Tributes have poured in for Prendergast, who spent his career in County Kildare and died two weeks short of his 93rd birthday.
Among them was top Irish jockey Chris Hayes, who was stable jockey to Prendergast and rode most of his big winners in recent years including Awtaad, who won the Irish 2,000 Guineas in 2016.
He said: “La Collina was my first Group 1 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.”
Another legendary trainer Dermot Weld, who was great friends with Prendergast, said: “He was a wonderful trainer. His horses were always turned out in supreme condition – you could always identify one of his by the way they were turned out and, even in the early days, they always won the best-turned-out award.
“He was an exceptional trainer of a two-year-old and had great longevity – and he trained a much smaller team of horses than is fashionable nowadays.
“He was a very, very talented trainer and naturally my sympathy goes out to his family.”
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.
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