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Wales Online
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Wales Online
ITV halt live Royal Ascot coverage to announce tragic news
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info ITV's live coverage of Royal Ascot was paused this afternoon as the death of "a legend of the sport" was announced. Just minutes into the broadcast from the fourth day of the meet, presenter Ed Chamberlin informed viewers that legendary racehorse trainer Kevin Prendergast had died at the age of 92. The Irishman trained over 2,000 winners over the course of his glittering career - which spanned six decades - but he sadly passed away just a few weeks short of his 93rd birthday. He was the son of the legendary Paddy 'Darkie' Prendergast and started out as an amateur jockey before taking out a trainer's licence in 1963. Prendergast would go on to win nine Classics in his career, with eight of those victories coming in Ireland. His sole English Classic win came when Nebbiolo triumphed at the Newmarket 2,000 Guineas in 1977. Meanwhile, his last winner in any race came last August, when Copie Conforme, ridden by Chris Hayes, won at Bellewstown. Announcing the news moments into Friday afternoon's coverage, Chamberlin told viewers: "There was some sad news earlier today, the news that the Irish trainer Kevin Prendergast has died at the age of 92. "A trainer that had over 2,000 winners, he won four races here at Royal Ascot and nine Classics in total, including Nebbiolo in the 1977 2000 Guineas. "He really was a great trainer and an even better man." Chamberlin then handed over to former jockey Ruby Walsh to give his thoughts on the tragic news, asking him: "Ruby, would it be fair to describe him as a trailblazer in the training ranks?" "Oh, he most certainly was, Ed," replied Walsh. "He followed in the footsteps of his father Darkie and he trained for long enough to compete against the great Vincent O'Brien and Aidan O'Brien. "So he was a trailblazer, his horses always looked impeccable, he was a brilliant racehorse trainer, he was a legend of the sport, but he was a massive character and he will be sadly missed." A statement from ITV Racing read: "Everyone at ITV Racing is sad to hear the passing of legendary trainer Kevin Prendergast aged 92. "Our thoughts are with his friends and family at this time."
Rhyl Journal
16 hours ago
- Sport
- Rhyl Journal
Trawlerman nets biggest staying prize of them all
Second to Kyprios 12 months ago, the Godolphin-owned seven-year-old took full advantage of the dual winner's retirement under an excellently-judged ride from William Buick. Illinois, who had stepped into Kyprios' shoes for Aidan O'Brien, was well placed if good enough, but inside the final furlong Trawlerman (85-40 favourite) began to pull away and ran out an impressive seven-length winner. Dubai Future was third for Saeed bin Suroor in the Godolphin colours. TRAWLERMAN WINS THE GOLD CUP 🏆🔵@godolphin | @WilliamBuickX — ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 19, 2025 Buick said: 'It's an extreme distance, two and a half miles, so you need an extraordinary horse with an extraordinary set of skills. 'He's got that lung capacity and stamina. He got in a great rhythm – it's a tough thing to do, be in front for two and a half miles like that, but he's so genuine. 'I knew he would stay, which is a big help. It's taken me a long time to win this – I knew he was the right horse, I just hoped I would get it right on him.' John Gosden spoke of his relief after what felt like a long final furlong for the Clarehaven handler. He said: 'I didn't enjoy it (final furlong) because anything can happen, you never know until they cross the line. He's part of the furniture you know. It's absolutely amazing. He's the most grand, lovely horse he really is. The other horse, Sweet William (fourth), they're great old friends.' Trawlerman set a new course record and Gosden praised Buick's ride, repeating the tactics he employed to such good effect when also winning at Sandown last time out. 'We ran him in the Henry II at Sandown and William got it spot on,' said Gosden. 'He went what they call in America 'wire to wire', that was two miles around Sandown. 'He's an out-and-out galloper and he rode him beautifully, judged it perfectly – not an easy thing to do over two and a half miles. 'The only way we were going to win was to just say, 'if you're going to beat me, you're going to know you've been in a race, as you're going to have to go two and a half miles at a proper gallop'.' Gosden already has a title defence on his mind and given Trawlerman will be eight next year, he is eager to measure the gelding's efforts ahead of that long-range target. He added: 'I think he should be aimed at coming back next year, and he shouldn't be over-raced at all in between time. Don't be surprised if you don't see him again until the Henry II next year. That could be a reality. 'I'll discuss it with Sheikh Mohammed, but he doesn't need to be going to all these races. He might come back here in the autumn (for the Long Distance Cup on Champions Day), he's won that, we might go for that, and then put him away.'
Rhyl Journal
16 hours ago
- Climate
- Rhyl Journal
No weather worries for O'Brien as temperatures rise at Ascot
And the master of Ballydoyle also allayed any fears the equine athletes on show would find conditions unduly oppressive, despite the mercury rising. O'Brien said: 'Horses love heat, it's in their nature and when you are training horses they thrive in the heat and in the cold they don't always try, they don't like the cold weather. 'Heat is always an advantage for horses and as long as there is plenty of water at hand, you would prefer it to be warm – if you asked the horse what weather he would like, I would know what he would say. 'Ascot do an incredible job and we've had beautiful weather this week. I promise you, if you are training horses you would see the difference. When it's warm horses train better and get bigger and stronger, they eat better and drink better. When it's cold they put all their energy into keeping warm, so it's better it is warm any day.' Ascot's clerk of the course Chris Stickels underlined the amount of water that is readily available at the track. He said: 'We've got plenty of water available and there is over 3,000 litres in the unsaddling enclosures. 'We also ice the water and there is a 1,000-litre water bowser which sits on the finishing line of the jumps course and is able to be towed anywhere on the racecourse it is needed. 'There is also 800 litres at the winning line and pull-out area to be dished out by the dedicated team, who are not only there to top up the buckets but help out stable staff as required. 'We've got the misting fans and there are a lot of resources available. Horses get used to the heat and they do get acclimatised and it's worse if it suddenly gets hot, but the key thing is just to have a team on hand to keep on top of the resources.' Dr Sally Taylor, head of equine regulation, safety and welfare for the British Horseracing Authority, told ITV Racing: 'The most important thing to realise is horses are very able to acclimatise to hot weather. When horses sweat it is their primary mechanism of losing heat, as the sweat evaporates it takes with it the heat so that is what you see when a horse sweats at the start. 'When they finish racing we are able to mimic that process by applying cold water and creating a breeze. Ascot does a fantastic job, there is iced water available, horses are supervised by vets at all stages of their journey across the racecourse and they have state-of-the-art fans here to create a breeze.'
Glasgow Times
16 hours ago
- Climate
- Glasgow Times
No weather worries for O'Brien as temperatures rise at Ascot
And the master of Ballydoyle also allayed any fears the equine athletes on show would find conditions unduly oppressive, despite the mercury rising. O'Brien said: 'Horses love heat, it's in their nature and when you are training horses they thrive in the heat and in the cold they don't always try, they don't like the cold weather. A horse is washed down on the track at Ascot (David Davies/PA) 'Heat is always an advantage for horses and as long as there is plenty of water at hand, you would prefer it to be warm – if you asked the horse what weather he would like, I would know what he would say. 'Ascot do an incredible job and we've had beautiful weather this week. I promise you, if you are training horses you would see the difference. When it's warm horses train better and get bigger and stronger, they eat better and drink better. When it's cold they put all their energy into keeping warm, so it's better it is warm any day.' Ascot's clerk of the course Chris Stickels underlined the amount of water that is readily available at the track. He said: 'We've got plenty of water available and there is over 3,000 litres in the unsaddling enclosures. 'We also ice the water and there is a 1,000-litre water bowser which sits on the finishing line of the jumps course and is able to be towed anywhere on the racecourse it is needed. 'There is also 800 litres at the winning line and pull-out area to be dished out by the dedicated team, who are not only there to top up the buckets but help out stable staff as required. Ascot has cooling fans to hand for the equine stars (Adam Morgan/PA) 'We've got the misting fans and there are a lot of resources available. Horses get used to the heat and they do get acclimatised and it's worse if it suddenly gets hot, but the key thing is just to have a team on hand to keep on top of the resources.' Dr Sally Taylor, head of equine regulation, safety and welfare for the British Horseracing Authority, told ITV Racing: 'The most important thing to realise is horses are very able to acclimatise to hot weather. When horses sweat it is their primary mechanism of losing heat, as the sweat evaporates it takes with it the heat so that is what you see when a horse sweats at the start. 'When they finish racing we are able to mimic that process by applying cold water and creating a breeze. Ascot does a fantastic job, there is iced water available, horses are supervised by vets at all stages of their journey across the racecourse and they have state-of-the-art fans here to create a breeze.'
Leader Live
17 hours ago
- Sport
- Leader Live
Trawlerman nets biggest staying prize of them all
Second to Kyprios 12 months ago, the Godolphin-owned seven-year-old took full advantage of the dual winner's retirement under an excellently-judged ride from William Buick. Illinois, who had stepped into Kyprios' shoes for Aidan O'Brien, was well placed if good enough, but inside the final furlong Trawlerman (85-40 favourite) began to pull away and ran out an impressive seven-length winner. Dubai Future was third for Saeed bin Suroor in the Godolphin colours. TRAWLERMAN WINS THE GOLD CUP 🏆🔵@godolphin | @WilliamBuickX — ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 19, 2025 Buick said: 'It's an extreme distance, two and a half miles, so you need an extraordinary horse with an extraordinary set of skills. 'He's got that lung capacity and stamina. He got in a great rhythm – it's a tough thing to do, be in front for two and a half miles like that, but he's so genuine. 'I knew he would stay, which is a big help. It's taken me a long time to win this – I knew he was the right horse, I just hoped I would get it right on him.' John Gosden spoke of his relief after what felt like a long final furlong for the Clarehaven handler. He said: 'I didn't enjoy it (final furlong) because anything can happen, you never know until they cross the line. He's part of the furniture you know. It's absolutely amazing. He's the most grand, lovely horse he really is. The other horse, Sweet William (fourth), they're great old friends.' Trawlerman set a new course record and Gosden praised Buick's ride, repeating the tactics he employed to such good effect when also winning at Sandown last time out. 'We ran him in the Henry II at Sandown and William got it spot on,' said Gosden. 'He went what they call in America 'wire to wire', that was two miles around Sandown. 'He's an out-and-out galloper and he rode him beautifully, judged it perfectly – not an easy thing to do over two and a half miles. 'The only way we were going to win was to just say, 'if you're going to beat me, you're going to know you've been in a race, as you're going to have to go two and a half miles at a proper gallop'.' Gosden already has a title defence on his mind and given Trawlerman will be eight next year, he is eager to measure the gelding's efforts ahead of that long-range target. He added: 'I think he should be aimed at coming back next year, and he shouldn't be over-raced at all in between time. Don't be surprised if you don't see him again until the Henry II next year. That could be a reality. 'I'll discuss it with Sheikh Mohammed, but he doesn't need to be going to all these races. He might come back here in the autumn (for the Long Distance Cup on Champions Day), he's won that, we might go for that, and then put him away.'
