KEVIN Prendergast stole the show at the Curragh last weekend. He had told us that he thought that Awtaad could be very good indeed, that he would have no difficulty seeing out the mile, and the Cape Cross colt proved his trainer’s hypothesis with a thoroughly professional and impressive performance to land the Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas on Saturday. There was never a point in the race at which you thought that he would not win.

Prendergast is one of racing’s stalwarts, still plying his trade at the top level of Irish racing, 40 years after he sent out Northern Treasure to win his last Irish 2000 Guineas, and still eminently quotable. “Some of the lads here weren’t even born then,” he said.

And you could tell by the reaction of the crowd afterwards how popular a victory this was. The bonhomie was packed three-deep around the winner’s enclosure, and the cheer when horse and rider came back in was of a magnitude that you rarely hear at the Curragh these days.

Chris Hayes excelled on Awtaad. He always had his horse well-positioned, just behind the pace and with no horse on his outside, so that he could make his move whenever he wanted. Of course, it helps when you are on the best horse in the race, but good jockeys win when they are on the best horse and that’s what Hayes did. Kept it simple. No dramatics, no heroics.

Indeed, as he confessed afterwards, the one instruction that his trainer had given him before he went out was that he shouldn’t hit the front too early. “And I did!” He saw that Frankie Dettori was in trouble on the far side, so he wanted to take advantage of that situation. That’s also what good jockeys do: notice things as they happen around them during a race, and react accordingly.

SPECIAL

You could tell how much it meant to the rider afterwards. Hayes has ridden Group 1 winners before, he rode La Collina to win the Matron Stakes in September 2013 and he rode Voleuse De Coeurs to win the Irish St Leger a week later in a magical week for him, but to win a Classic for Prendergast, for the boss, to whom he went for the first time when he was 15 – that was special.

Awtaad is probably versatile in terms of distance – he has seven-furlong pace but he obviously stays a mile well and his dam won over 10 furlongs – but it was no surprise when Sheikh Hamdan’s racing manager Angus Gold said on Monday that the St James’s Palace Stakes, not the Derby, was Awtaad’s next likely target. Stick to a mile for now, step up to 10 furlongs later in the season if you want, the Eclipse, the Juddmonte International, the Irish Champion Stakes, the Champion Stakes. All are options. Or just simply stick to a mile, the Sussex Stakes, the Prix du Moulin, the QE2, the Breeders’ Cup Mile if you like.

The Royal Ascot contest is shaping up to be a cracker, with Galileo Gold and The Gurkha also potentially on track for the race. Not only would that be a re-match between the Irish Guineas 1-2, probably on the faster ground that Hugo Palmer maintains would suit the runner-up better, but it would also be a clash of the three Guineas winners, Irish v English v French.

You could have your champion three-year-old miler of 2016 right there, on June 14th.