Galileo’s Bondi Beach Awarded St Leger Decision in Stewards’ Room

Having fallen the wrong side of a stewards’ verdict when runner-up to Storm the Stars (Sea the Stars {Ire}) in York’s G2 Great Voltigeur S. last month, Bondi Beach benefitted from the intervention of Doncaster’s adjudicators to claim victory in the G1 St Leger Saturday. Improving steadily from an initial fifth position to turn for home in a share of third, the 2-1 joint-favorite became embroiled in skirmishes with £50,000 supplementee Simple Verse (Ire) (Duke of Marmalade {Ire}) when duelling for sumpremacy inside the final quarter mile and stayed on resolutely under a continued drive to finish a head behind that subsequently demoted distaffer. Bondi Beach’s pacesetting stablemate Fields of Athenry (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) rallied gamely once headed and stayed on to finish a further 1 3/4 lengths behind in third.

Saturday, Doncaster, Britain
LADBROKES ST LEGER S.-G1, £694,300, DON, 9-12, 3yo, 14f 132yT, 3:07.12, gd.
1–&BONDI BEACH (IRE), 127, c, 3, by Galileo (Ire)
1st Dam: One Moment In Time (Ire), by Danehill
2nd Dam: Hotelgenie Dot Com (GB), by Selkirk
3rd Dam: Birch Creek (GB), by Carwhite (Ire)
O-Mr D. Smith, Mrs J. Magnier, Mr M. Tabor; B-One Moment In Time Syndicate (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien; J-Colm O’Donoghue. £393,738. Lifetime Record: GSW-Ire, 5-3-2-0, $729,163. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.

[bullet ad=”itm-g1″]
*2–Simple Verse (Ire), 124, f, 3, Duke of Marmalade (Ire)–Guantanamera (Ire), by Sadler’s Wells. (€240,000 Ylg ‘13 GOFORB). O-QRL/Sheikh Suhaim Al Thani/M Al Kubaisi; B-Barronstown Stud (IRE); T-Ralph Beckett. £149,274.
3–Fields of Athenry (Ire), 127, c, 3, Galileo (Ire)—Last Love (Ire), by Danehill. O-Mr F. Velin; B-Commonwealth (IRE); T-Aidan O’Brien. £74,707.
Margins: 1 3/4, HD, NO. Odds: 2.00, 8.00, 3.30.
Also Ran: Storm the Stars, Vengeur Masque (Ire), Medrano (GB), Proposed (GB). *Simple Verse finished 1st, but was disqualified and placed 2nd. Click for the Racing Post result, the brisnet.com PPs or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.