G1 St Leger
Classic winner Scandinavia will not travel Down Under for a G1 Melbourne Cup engagement in November, trainer Aidan O'Brien revealed. The son of Justify, fresh off consecutive victories in the G1 Goodwood Cup and the G1 St Leger, will head to winter quarters instead with an eye to Royal Ascot's G1 Gold Cup in June. O'Brien told the PA news agency of the Coolmore partners' runner, "He's not going [to Australia], he's finished for the year and will be trained for the Gold Cup next year." Placed twice from three...
There was a moment in the closing stages of Doncaster's G1 St Leger on Saturday that summed up the state of affairs at Coolmore in this pivotal era. As Galileo's final Classic runner Stay True loomed to Justify's Scandinavia, the Classic briefly looked in the balance but it was ultimately the son of the operation's heir apparent and not of the departed giant who earned the statement win. At the line, Tom Marquand had secured a neck success for Aidan O'Brien's third in succession and ninth overall in this prize...
Saturday, Doncaster, post time: 15:40, THE BETFRED ST LEGER S.-G1, £700,000, 3yo, Open, 14f 115y Field: Carmers (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}), Furthur (Ire) (Waldgeist {GB}), Lambourn (Ire) (Australia {GB}), Rahiebb (GB) (Frankel {GB}), Scandinavia (Justify), Stay True (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Tarriance (GB) (Frankel {GB}). TDN Verdict: Judged on the evidence of the first day's racing here, staying power is going to be a must and Scandinavia certainly has that. From one of Coolmore's finest Classic families, he has surged to promise in the last two months and mastered last year's...
Friday, Doncaster, post time: 15:00, THE BETFRED HOWARD WRIGHT DONCASTER CUP-G2, £150,000, 3yo/up, 17f 197yT Field: Coltrane (Ire) (Mastercraftsman {Ire}), Hipop De Loire (Fr) (American Post {GB}), Kyle Of Lochalsh (GB) (Highland Reel {Ire}), Sunway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), Sweet William (Ire) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), Tashkhan (Ire) (Born To Sea {Ire}), Oxford Comma (Ire) (Nathaniel {Ire}), Pendragon (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). TDN Verdict: Last year's winner Sweet William remains in good heart and is the obvious choice, but there is a chance that proper Group 1 horse Sunway could enjoy this...
Ante-post favourite Scandinavia (Justify) and dual Derby hero Lambourn (Australia) headline eight confirmations for Saturday's G1 Betfred St Leger at Doncaster. The pair are both trained by Aidan O'Brien, who is responsible for half of the possible runners in the final Classic of the season, with Stay True (Galileo) and likely outsider Saratoga (Camelot) also featuring. Scandinavia will be back against his own age group on Town Moor, after beating his older rivals in the G1 Goodwood Cup last time, while Lambourn needs to bounce back from a below-par display...
Derby runner-up Lazy Griff has been ruled out of next week's G1 Betfred St Leger at Doncaster after suffering a setback. Last seen finishing third in the G1 Irish Derby at the Curragh, the son of Protectionist was a 4/1 shot with the sponsors to provide owners Middleham Park Racing with a first British Classic success on Town Moor, but those dreams have now been dashed. "He's met with a setback," confirmed Middleham Park's Mike Prince. "He was due to do his last piece of work before the Leger on...
G2 Great Voltigeur runner-up Carmers (Wootton Bassett) is one of 15 horses remaining in the G1 St Leger at Doncaster next month at the latest entry stage. Trained by Paddy Twomey, he represents Fiona Carmichael. A winner at Ballinrobe at first asking in May, Carmers added the Listed Yeats Stakes to his haul at Navan later that month before claiming Royal Ascot glory in the G2 Queen's Vase in June. The Great Voltigeur was his first defeat. "We were very happy with him at York last week, finishing second in...
In an outstanding renewal of Doncaster's G1 St Leger on Saturday, it was the much-missed colossus Galileo (Ire) who had his inimitable stamp on proceedings with his sons Jan Brueghel (Ire) and Illinois (Ire) waging war in a clear demonstration of one of the most common characteristics of his breed. While the eventual winner Jan Brueghel had yet to go into the red zone in a career that only commenced in May, the son of Devoted To You (Ire) (Danehill Dancer {Ire}) who had already provided a Classic winner in...
Aidan O'Brien has whittled his G1 St Leger team down to three sons of Galileo (Ire) after the final confirmations were made for the Doncaster Classic on Thursday morning. Wayne Lordan will partner the G2 Queen's Vase winner and G1 Grand Prix de Paris runner-up Illinois (Ire), who will be joined as expected by the unbeaten G3 Gordon Stakes-winning TDN Rising Star Jan Brueghel (Ire) and the emphatic G3 Irish St Leger Trial Stakes winner Grosvenor Square (Ire). Jockeys for the latter pair have yet to be announced. Sean Levey...
Aidan O'Brien dominates the entries for the G1 Betfred St Leger, which takes place at Doncaster on Saturday, September 14. Of the 25 entries, O'Brien is responsible for no fewer than 14 of them, headed by G1 Irish Derby hero Los Angeles (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and the unbeaten Jan Brueghel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). They could be joined at Doncaster by two of the stable's Royal Ascot winners in G2 Queen's Vase scorer Illinois (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})--last seen filling the runner-up spot in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris--and Port Fairy...
Wathnan Racing's Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}), who won the G2 Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot, is headed for some time off, with connections opting for a 4-year-old staying campaign, according to racing advisor Richard Brown. The John and Thady Gosden trainee won his first three starts, before running third in the G2 Great Voltigeur S. and fifth in the G1 St Leger, both times to Heart's Cry (Jpn) colt Continuous (Jpn). "I think he's going to be better on top of the ground and he still ran an admirable...
Vickers.Bet, founded by former jockey and trainer Ian Vickers, is the new headline sponsor of the 2023 Leger Legends Race, the Leger Legends Organising Committee announced on Tuesday. The event is the only British Charity race for former professional jockeys and is held during the annual St Leger Festival in September. Since its inception, over £1 million has been raised for various charities including the National Horseracing College, Jack Berry House, and the Injured Jockeys Fund. Some of the former jockeys signed on for the 2023 edition include Kieren Fallon,...