Next Stop St Stephens Green

There's a lot more than sentiment to fuel the hunch that Madhmoon can win this Saturday's Epsom Derby for his 86 year old trainer Kevin Prendergast. There needs to be too. The world's greatest classic doesn't really do fairytales. But it's a poor world that can't allow a dash of romance sometimes and it will be one of racing's greatest stories if Madhmoon wins for the veteran trainer.

Mentioning Prendergast's age at all probably means breaching some 'ism.' But it's hard not to reference it when putting in context someone who trained their first ever winner almost 56 years ago to the day. In an industry with such a high attrition rate it is a remarkable feat for the hugely popular Curragh trainer to now rock up at Epsom with his best chance of winning the Derby.

He's had five Derby runners in the past and never reached the frame. But the extra evocative element revolves around Prendergast's legendary father, Paddy, who won every other English classic but not the one that matters most during a stellar career.

Meadow Court would have won nine out of ten Derbies but had the misfortune to run into Sea Bird in 1965. Five years previously Alcaeus and Kythnos were second and third to the Lester Piggott ridden St Paddy. A peak form Ragusa might ultimately have been judged the best horse in the 1963 Derby but the still burgeoning talent had to settle for third behind Relko.

The resonance some of these names still carry points to the Derby's unique historical appeal. That's perhaps its trump card when it comes to withstanding the vagaries of racing fashion over the centuries, maybe partly too why the industry's elite operations still target it with a resolve that commercially requires a little added sentiment to justify it.

Coolmore's overwhelming power means Aidan O'Brien is on the verge of history. A seventh Epsom Derby will see 'AP' go one past the legendary 'MV' in the Irish stakes and joining the trio of Robert Robson, John Porter and Fred Darling as the most successful 'Blue Riband' trainers ever. It would be just the latest example of two decades of sustained excellence from Coolmore-Ballydoyle.

Sheikh Hamdan's Shadwell operation is another of elite racing's big players and it would be wrong to portray Prendergast and Madhmoon in cloying terms. No trainer thrives for as long as 'Spot' has without being ultra-competitive and seriously professional. But it's a very tin ear that can't pick up on the significance of this challenge for the sport's greatest prize.

If there's an outstanding champion lurking in this year's Derby he will probably be too good for Madhmoon. The nature of the race and its timing means there could be an outstanding middle-distance titan waiting to emerge although on most evidence they've been keeping such exceptional ability under cover to date.

Jockey arrangements for O'Brien's squad will be intriguing. Correctly reading the Ballydoyle tea-leaves can be difficult but despite Sir Dragonet topping the betting Broome could emerge as their best shot. Sir Dragonet was ultimately spectacular in the Chester Vase but he looked on his head for the early part of the race. He won't be able to get away with that in the Derby.

Laziness rather than a lack of early pace may be the issue with Broome. Either way hitting flat spots coming down the Epsom hill isn't an encouraging habit. Anthony Van Dyck is an admirable colt although if he proves the one to beat it could prove to be a case of this Derby being a less than vintage one.

It's in that light that Madhmoon appeals as a 12-1 each way shot tough to keep out of the frame. His trainer is probably familiar with the old adage about fourth in the Guineas preceding a win at Epsom such as with Generous in 1991. And there's the encouraging way he finished in a Newmarket Guineas that admittedly took a knock with Phoenix Of Spain's Curragh victory on Saturday.

Stamina has to be taken on trust. But when Prendergast says he'll be disappointed and surprised if the colt doesn't stay that opinion carries decades of experience behind it. There's no getting away either from how he put Broome away with authority on their sole meeting to date last year. But in a race where most of the principles look sure to stay, Madhmoon's Guineas quality could be decisive.

The Derby's enduring appeal indicates how racing history records the important stuff and the merely topical can quickly fade into oblivion.

It's Larkspur that's remembered, not the pile up behind him that dominated as many news headlines in the immediate aftermath of the 1962 Derby. So it's important to keep in mind that the weekend Guineas will ultimately be framed by both Hermosa and Phoenix Of Spain. It's just a couple of years since Churchill and Winter won the same Curragh classics and it's already mostly irrelevant that they did so on a track in front of what was effectively a building site.

The product of that construction was formally opened on Sunday in an impressive ceremony with the Taoiseach doing the honours next to a superb looking grandstand named, entirely appropriately, after the Aga Khan. It was momentous stuff which nevertheless couldn't prevent the biggest topic of conversation being the eerie noise generated by a not very strong wind whistling through the stand.

During gusts it sounded like Luas trams whirring past, producing a rather discomforting vibe that was hard to ignore.

Apparently a particular angle of southerly wind has set this whirring sound off before during construction. But the reckoning seemed to be it would sort itself out once everything was finished. It hasn't but those in charge are happy the problem is to do with perforations in the roof and that acoustic engineers will be able to sort it out.

Since quite a lot of snags were sorted out in the less than three weeks between the 'Guineas Festival' and the Curragh's first meeting of the year that feels like reasonable reassurance. It also feels like a reasonable public comment by authorities in charge of a facility built with €36 million of public money in order to properly accommodate a modern sporting audience.

That's why reluctance by various authorities to be similarly transparent about other matters is regrettable.

Maybe there were contractual reasons for the Curragh and Horse Racing Ireland to be so reticent about revealing the final cost of building the new facility. Originally projected to cost €65 million in 2015, a couple of years later the tendering process took the price to €72 million. On Sunday finally came confirmation that the price tag is a cool €81.2 million, almost 25 per cent more than the original projection.

To add to the uncertainty there was even an official gaffe when a PR release quoted Leo Varadkar as saying the €36 million of public money represented 40 per cent of the overall cost, a sum that totted the final bill at €90 million. Everyone makes mistakes of course. But such mistakes have a habit of multiplying in an atmosphere of playing 'peek-a-boo' with figures that are of relevant public interest.

Such a grudging attitude could be detected too in the Curragh's refusal to divulge attendance figures for each of the Guineas Festival's three days. Instead we got an overall figure of 15,495.

Such a tactic may be an attempt by the new regime to steer the narrative away from crowd figures. Or it might be a counter-punch to some perceived negative criticism. Whatever the reason though all this half-hearted attempt at communication did was push the attendance subject higher up the news list.

A lot of public money has gone into a facility designed to accommodate the public. Those in charge have declared their wish for more people to come to what is a spectacular architectural creation, Luas sound-effects and all. That makes attendance figures relevant now. Making an issue out of it had the counter-productive effect of elbowing Hermosa and Phoenix Of Spain aside.

The good news for all concerned though is time tends to restore proper priorities.