Latest news with #Classic-winning
Irish Examiner
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
'A giant of the game': Willie Mullins adds his tribute to Kevin Prendergast
Willie Mullins has added his tribute to Kevin Prendergast, following the multiple Classic-winning trainer's death on Friday at the age of 92. Prendergast - son of the legendary Paddy 'Darkie' Prendergast - was a hugely popular and respected figure, landing the last of his Classic successes with Awtaad in the Irish 2,000 Guineas in 2016. "I was sorry to hear about Kevin. He was a tremendous trainer, who always had a word for you," said Mullins, the reigning champion National Hunt trainer in Ireland and Britain. "He had an opinion on everything and that opinion was valued by people because he'd been through it, he knew the good days and he knew the bad days. "He was a tremendous character who will be sadly missed. A proper giant of the game, he did the hard work and he knew everything about the game." Former trainer Mick Halford, who now represents Joseph O'Brien on racecourses, said: "Kevin was a master on the Curragh when I started. He was somebody I always looked up to, his horses were always a credit to him. "He was a great man to talk to, a great man for advice, and for a bit of slagging! "He was a lovely man and I had a lot of time for him, and he will be sadly missed on the Curragh. "He led a full life, he was a great example to us all."
Irish Daily Mirror
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Willie Mullins pays tribute to 'tremendous character' and 'giant of the game'
Willie Mullins has paid tribute to Kevin Prendergast, following the multiple Classic-winning trainer's death on Friday at the age of 92. Prendergast – son of the legendary Paddy 'Darkie' Prendergast – was a hugely popular and respected figure, with the last of his Classic successes coming with Awtaad in the Irish 2,000 Guineas in 2016. 'I was sorry to hear about Kevin. He was a tremendous trainer, who always had a word for you,' said Mullins, the reigning champion National Hunt trainer in Ireland and Britain. 'He had an opinion on everything and that opinion was valued by people because he'd been through it, he knew the good days and he knew the bad days. 'He was a tremendous character who will be sadly missed. A proper giant of the game, he did the hard work and he knew everything about the game.' Former trainer Mick Halford, who now represents Joseph O'Brien on racecourses, said: 'Kevin was a master on the Curragh when I started. He was somebody I always looked up to, his horses were always a credit to him. 'He was a great man to talk to, a great man for advice, and for a bit of slagging! 'He was a lovely man and I had a lot of time for him, and he will be sadly missed on the Curragh. 'He led a full life, he was a great example to us all.
Powys County Times
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Powys County Times
‘A giant of the game' – Willie Mullins adds his tribute to Kevin Prendergast
Willie Mullins has added his tribute to Kevin Prendergast, following the multiple Classic-winning trainer's death on Friday at the age of 92. Prendergast – son of the legendary Paddy 'Darkie' Prendergast – was a hugely popular and respected figure, landing the last of his Classic successes with Awtaad in the Irish 2,000 Guineas in 2016. 'I was sorry to hear about Kevin. He was a tremendous trainer, who always had a word for you,' said Mullins, the reigning champion National Hunt trainer in Ireland and Britain. 'He had an opinion on everything and that opinion was valued by people because he'd been through it, he knew the good days and he knew the bad days. 'He was a tremendous character who will be sadly missed. A proper giant of the game, he did the hard work and he knew everything about the game.' Former trainer Mick Halford, who now represents Joseph O'Brien on racecourses, said: 'Kevin was a master on the Curragh when I started. He was somebody I always looked up to, his horses were always a credit to him. 'He was a great man to talk to, a great man for advice, and for a bit of slagging! 'He was a lovely man and I had a lot of time for him, and he will be sadly missed on the Curragh. 'He led a full life, he was a great example to us all.'
Daily Mirror
20-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mirror
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.'
Scottish Sun
13-06-2025
- Business
- Scottish Sun
‘Nowhere near enough' – Top horse owner rejects £2.2MILLION offer for superstar syndicate filly Shes Perfect
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) A TOP horse owner said he was 'delighted' to miss out on £2.2million - claiming the offer for his superstar filly was 'nowhere near enough'. Members of the Basher Watts Racing 2 syndicate voted overwhelmingly in favour of rejecting the life-changing sum for Shes Perfect. 1 Basher Watts, third from left, was briefly a Classic-winning owner with his syndicate and filly Shes Perfect - until they were demoted to second Credit: Shutterstock Editorial The Charlie Fellowes-trained three-year-old was first past the post in the French 1,000 Guineas under Kieran Shoemark last month. But, amid boos and cries of 'cheat' in the winner's enclosure, she was demoted and placed second behind Zarigana, with connections also losing their appeal against the decision of French stewards. Shes Perfect returns to action at Chantilly on Sunday in the Group 1 Prix de Diane Longines, where victory is worth 'just' £472,231. The horse was bought for around £42,000 in May last year - meaning, if they had sold to Japanese buyers, the syndicate would have made a 5,138 per cent profit on their investment. It equated, Basher said, to around £20,000 each. But, while much more than they stand to make at the races with her, Basher said the sum was 'nowhere near enough', and added: "Some things are worth more than money." Explaining the deal, the syndicate boss said: "So, what actually happened? "We had a Japanese client approach Charlie and offer £2.2m. "How it works is people own a share of the horse and are entitled to a percentage of the sale which, in this case, after fees, if you own one per cent you would have got about £20,000. "So I put it to the group and 37 out of 38 voted no. "I'm delighted everyone voted no. "For me, I had a dream of getting lucky and owning a Classic, Group 1 runner - a horse who will take you to all the big racecourses… which is what she did. "She might not earn £2.2m in prize money but, we had her valued and, if she never raced again, she'd be worth up to £1m. "So, you're trading the rest of her career for £1m. "That to all of us, and me, is just not worth it. "Those 15 minutes we experienced at Longchamp where we were Classic-winning owners, I would not trade that for any amount of money. "Horse racing is my passion, my love, and this is my dream to be in the poisition we are in. "Some things mean so much more than money and this is one of those moments. We are absolutely living our dream. "If she gets beat on Sunday who cares? As long as she is fit and well we're going to have many fantastic days out with her. "The time to sell will be down to the syndicate only - and at the moment she's not for sale. "Imagine her winning in someone else's silks - I dont know how I'd process that. She's our baby, our dream. "And it's not worth trading in the dream for that amount of money." FREE BETS - GET THE BEST SIGN UP DEALS AND RACING OFFERS Commercial content notice: Taking one of the offers featured in this article may result in a payment to The Sun. You should be aware brands pay fees to appear in the highest placements on the page. 18+. T&Cs apply. Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who: Establishes time and monetary limits before playing Only gambles with money they can afford to lose Never chases their losses Doesn't gamble if they're upset, angry or depressed Gamcare – Gamble Aware – Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.
