[2] He was apprenticed to Roderic More O'Ferrall at Kildangan, County Kildare, but soon moved to Epsom where he rode under both rules but principally National Hunt.
Pelorus was successful on the flat and as a steeplechaser for many years including the Troytown Chase at Navan in 1949 and the Naas November Handicap in 1950.
[4] Pelorus, according to Michael O'Farrell in the Irish Times obituary published in 1980, established Paddy as a "trainer of some consequence".
The leading two-year-old was the filly Royal Duchy, who won two races in Ireland, one in England (Lowther Stakes at York) and suffered her only defeat in France.
These were his only races in Ireland but he was rated top of the Irish Free Handicap with 10 stone 3 pounds based on his English form.
The horse, which had run poorly on his last two Irish starts, showed improved form and was narrowly beaten into second place.
... Blue Sail came slowly to hand, for his first appearance on the racecourse was deferred till Navan August meeting when in the 6-furlong Dowth Maiden Two-Year-Old Plate he finished eighth of 28 runners, and, approximately a month afterwards, he was seventh of 15 runners in the 6-furlong 63 yards Railway Two-Year-Old Plate at the Curragh.
Three weeks later he was one of 11 runners in the mile Two-Year-Old Cornwallis Stakes at Ascot Heath October meeting, and was beaten a neck by Plainsong.Raceform for 1953 shows Blue Sail finished second and was 5/2 favourite backed in from 3/1.
Thirteen witnesses were examined, and the verdict was that"The evidence before the Irish Stewards showed that their three senior officials were satisfied with the running of Blue Sail in Ireland.
[16] Peter O'Sullevan the Racing journalist of the BBC and Daily Express commented that Blue Sail at Ascot "was a punt despite the jockey Tommy Gosling being 3 lb overweight".
It is being said in Ireland that the English are determined to win the Gimcrack themselves for a change" On the lifting of the ban O'Sullevan commented that the Senior Steward in England Sir Humphrey de Trafford said to Paddy Prendergast " Welcome back!
Timeform's Racehorses of 1954 said of the race that Blue Sail "galloped right away from the field, and had ten lengths to spare over his nearest rival, at the finish.
Prendergast's next champion was the American-bred filly La Tendresse who won five races to become the top-rated two-year-old of either sex to run in Britain in 1961.
[5] A year later, Prendergast found an even better juvenile in Noblesse who established herself as the best two-year-old filly of her generation by defeating colts in the Observer Gold Cup.
Prendergast's biggest winner of 1963 however, was the colt Ragusa, who showed little worthwhile form before finishing third as a 25/1 outsider in The Derby.
[22] Ragusa returned to win the Eclipse Stakes in 1964, a year in which Prendergast claimed a third British classic when Pourparler won the 1000 Guineas.
Paddy Prendergast died on 20 June 1980,[3] less than two months after recording his last major success when Nikoli won the Irish 2000 Guineas.
[23] Peter O'Sullevan described Patrick Prendergast as "a trainer of utterly exceptional talent and achievement" He went on to quote Champion Jockey Christy Roche who said "He was well before his time, an innovator.