Sugar shines in Curragh spin Sugar Boy bids to put the name PJ Prendergast back on the Irish Derby role of honour this Saturday after a gap of 48 years. Patrick Prendergast will bid to emulate his legendary grandfather “Darkie” who saddled Meadow Court to land the Curragh contest in 1965. The Authorized colt has developed into a live classic contender this season after a fine comeback effort behind Battle Of Marengo in the Ballysax Stakes followed by a hard fought victory in the Sandown Classic Trial. The form of the Sandown race has worked out particularly well with both Galileo Rock and Libertarian in behind then. Sugar Boy wasn't entered for Epsom with the trainer feeling the track wouldn't suit and Prendergast hopes the fact that he arrives at the Curragh a fresher horse than his rivals will be to his advantage. The finishing touches were applied to his preparations this morning at a press event held at the Curragh racecourse and both the trainer and his big race partner Chris Hayes were delighted with how the gallop went. “He moved beautifully. We held on to him a little bit. He travelled well and looks in great nick but there's no prize-money out there today!” said Prendergast. “It was a little quick for him but I was delighted how he moved. That's as good as he goes at home. He never kills himself and only does what he has to.” When asked about ground for Saturday he joked:- “I want a bog! My horse goes on good ground, it doesn't inconvenience him and it's more a question that soft ground slows down the others. “It's not really an issue and I was exaggerating. He's such a lovely mover and if the ground was like that on Saturday we would be happy. “I was delighted to see Battle Of Marengo run so well at Ascot and the form is holding up. He deserves his place in the line up and after that who knows.” Prendergast took out his licence to train in 2003 after spells as assistant trainer with Ed Dunlop and Sir Michael Stoute in England. His initial venture was preparing horses for Japanese racing operation Taikai Racing but after that venture collapsed Prendergast found himself going through some tough times:- “I came back to Ireland to be a private trainer and prep horses for Japan. It was a lovely comfortable job and when they won a Group race in Japan I would get a bonus. “Unfortunately the owner's wife passed away and after that he lost interest in racing so all of a sudden I found myself left with three horses. “I built it up from there and in 2005 on stats I was leading two-year-old trainer. But I was training mainly for builders, property developers and people in the car business. “The downturn hit me early and in 2006 I was down ten or eleven horses. Any horse that was any good the owners wanted sold and I was just left with what I couldn't sell. “But we plugged on and kept at it. Tis Mighty was a boost winning the (2008) Cambridgeshire but at that stage I had to get a bit of work for her with some of my uncle Kevin's horses as I had nothing to work her with. “Then Rick Barnes (owner of Sugar Boy) came in and he had horses with real good pedigrees. You have to have the pedigrees to give you a chance as you can't rely on coming across a fluke. “We had the likes of Coral Wave, who won the CL Weld Park Stakes and Seolan, who was a Listed winner. “I have 22 in training at the moment and a few stores. Things are looking better and a Derby winner would really help!” Chris Hayes is hoping to make the breakthrough on the big stage and feels Sugar Boy is the best chance he's had in a classic to date. After giving his big race mount a spin with a stable-mate today he said:- “He seemed in good form. He travelled away nicely and was running away with me in the straight. I had a bit of bother pulling him up. “That's the best ground I've ever rode him on and he strode out fine. “The more rain the better for him. We'll pray for rain as he has form on it while the rest don't. “He's probably the freshest horse going into the race as the others have been to Epsom and elsewhere. “He's been a great horse for me and I've only been beaten once on him and that was behind Battle Of Marengo. “That was his first run of the year and if you think he's fresh now he was twice as fresh in the spring. “I was fairly bullish when I came in then that if he met Battle Of Marengo again it would be a different result. “It's the first time I've had a proper chance in a classic although I've often convinced myself I've had a chance!”
