ST LEGER PREVIEW
Back in 1776, the same year America declared independence and Captain Cook embarked on his fatal voyage to discover the Northwest Passage, former MP Lieutenant Colonel Anthony St Leger suggested to his friend, ex-Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth, the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, that Doncaster should host a spectacular and lucrative horse race; an event that would make locals proud and put the South Yorkshire town firmly on the racing map.
Colts should be eight stone (50.8 kg), instructed St Leger, while fillies ought to be seven stone and twelve pounds (49.9 kg) and, to ensure an excellent field, the winner would be handsomely rewarded with 25 Guineas. Rockingham thought the idea splendid and organised the race, held at Cantley Common on September 24 that year. Five horses ran and one owned by Rockingham romped to victory while St Leger’s came second.
The glorious race had the desired effect: 233 years later the St Leger Stakes, sponsored by Ladbrokes since 2005, will be run on September 12 as the centrepiece of the St Leger Festival. The oldest of the five Classic flat races, attracting champion thoroughbred racers, including numerous horses owned by the British royals, it is also the final leg, following the 2000 Guineas and the Epsom Derby, of the British Triple Crown – last won by Nijinsky in 1970. Fittingly, for a race so steeped in rich history, victory in Doncaster will earn a £500,000 purse this year.
It’s not just the horse folk who are likely to profit, either. Since the race’s inception the locals of the small town, founded by the Romans in 1AD – originally a military camp (castra) on the River Don – have reaped the benefits from the biggest four days in Doncaster’s calendar.
Labrokes’ horse racing public relations manager, David Williams, explains: “The St Leger had lurched from one sponsor to another and hadn’t really had the stability that the great race deserved. So we committed to increasing the prize money and ramping up its profile.
“We have seen the numbers though the turnstiles increase every year – that’s a good barometer – and we have worked hard with the racecourse and with the local businesses, so that as many of them are involved as possible.
“We are the oldest bookmakers in the world, the race is the oldest Classic in the world, so our partnership is a very natural fit. The Yorkshire racing crowd are among the most passionate in the land – and they certainly know how to enjoy themselves. Most importantly, the festival is a hell of a lot of fun for all involved.”
Alan Severn, manager of Geraghty Racing, a bookmakers local to Doncaster and five minutes’ walk away from Town Moor – where the racing now takes place, two miles west of the original course – expects the town to be booming when the four-day festival begins on September 9, and predicts over 100,000 people, from near and far, will enjoy the racing.
Indeed some 27,000 watched Frankie Dettori steer Conduit over the 1m 6½f course in three minutes and seven seconds to finish first in last year’s Ladbrokes St Leger Stakes – the Italian jockey’s fifth success in the race (still four victories behind Bill Scott who rode nine winners between 1821-46).
“We always look forward to the St Leger stakes – it has that special mystic about it because it is the oldest of the Classics,” says Severn. “The top jockeys and trainers are here and it’s usually a decent race. It’s the last Classic of the season and then it’s winter. They say, ‘the last horse that crosses the line in the St Leger has got snow on its tail’.
“There is a real buzz around the town and the build-up to the festival is very exciting. Everybody comes down here suited and booted and Ladies Day, Thursday, is usually sold out well in advance – all the girls dress up and look fantastic. It’s a great spectacle, and with it having a Group 1 race we get people from all over. But it is very well supported by local people from Yorkshire.”
And how do Gerherty Racing compete with the national bookmakers? Severn explains: “With it being our big festival of the year we have a lot of promotions – guaranteed prices, quarterly odds on all the races and Lucky15s.
“If people want to go to the St Leger Festival mainly for the social side of things, they can put their bets on with us before they head to the course and then enjoy their afternoon without that hassle. We are also the local bookmaker on-course, so we do very well out of the week.”
But the bookies could do even better if a horse with long odds romps to victory, which seldom happens during the Festival. Indeed, in the last 15 St Leger Stakes a total of 11 have been won by the favourite – and the lowest odds for any of the 15 winning horses was 8/1.
“I can’t see it being any different this year,” Severn continues. “If the best horses turn up and the ground is right, then we don’t usually get outsiders winning it anymore. It’s not great for us – we want a big price winner – but we will smile as usual.”
The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Harbinger was cut to short odds for this year’s Ladbrokes St Leger Stakes after his Gordon Stakes victory at Goodwood in late July and, after Conduit’s success last year, Stoute will be hoping for impressive back-to-back victories in Doncaster.
However Aiden O’Brien, who is no stranger to success in the race having trained three previous winners (Milan 2001, Brian Boru 2003, Scorpion 2005), is confident, with 15 entries in the 41-stong field, he can upset Stoute’s hegemony. His Irish Derby runner-up, Golden Sword, is Labrokes’ favourite at 4-1. As with St Leger and Rockingham’s chargers in 1776, the focal point of the St Leger Festival again promises to be fascinating and profitable for all involved.
Back in 1776, the same year America declared independence and Captain Cook embarked on his fatal voyage to discover the Northwest Passage, former MP Lieutenant Colonel Anthony St Leger suggested to his friend, ex-Prime Minister Charles Watson-Wentworth, the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, that Doncaster should host a spectacular and lucrative horse race; an event that would make locals proud and put the South Yorkshire town firmly on the racing map.
Colts should be eight stone (50.8 kg), instructed St Leger, while fillies ought to be seven stone and twelve pounds (49.9 kg) and, to ensure an excellent field, the winner would be handsomely rewarded with 25 Guineas. Rockingham thought the idea splendid and organised the race, held at Cantley Common on September 24 that year. Five horses ran and one owned by Rockingham romped to victory while St Leger’s came second.
The glorious race had the desired effect: 233 years later the St Leger Stakes, sponsored by Ladbrokes since 2005, will be run on September 12 as the centrepiece of the St Leger Festival. The oldest of the five Classic flat races, attracting champion thoroughbred racers, including numerous horses owned by the British royals, it is also the final leg, following the 2000 Guineas and the Epsom Derby, of the British Triple Crown – last won by Nijinsky in 1970. Fittingly, for a race so steeped in rich history, victory in Doncaster will earn a £500,000 purse this year.
It’s not just the horse folk who are likely to profit, either. Since the race’s inception the locals of the small town, founded by the Romans in 1AD – originally a military camp (castra) on the River Don – have reaped the benefits from the biggest four days in Doncaster’s calendar.
Labrokes’ horse racing public relations manager, David Williams, explains: “The St Leger had lurched from one sponsor to another and hadn’t really had the stability that the great race deserved. So we committed to increasing the prize money and ramping up its profile.
“We have seen the numbers though the turnstiles increase every year – that’s a good barometer – and we have worked hard with the racecourse and with the local businesses, so that as many of them are involved as possible.
“We are the oldest bookmakers in the world, the race is the oldest Classic in the world, so our partnership is a very natural fit. The Yorkshire racing crowd are among the most passionate in the land – and they certainly know how to enjoy themselves. Most importantly, the festival is a hell of a lot of fun for all involved.”
Alan Severn, manager of Geraghty Racing, a bookmakers local to Doncaster and five minutes’ walk away from Town Moor – where the racing now takes place, two miles west of the original course – expects the town to be booming when the four-day festival begins on September 9, and predicts over 100,000 people, from near and far, will enjoy the racing.
Indeed some 27,000 watched Frankie Dettori steer Conduit over the 1m 6½f course in three minutes and seven seconds to finish first in last year’s Ladbrokes St Leger Stakes – the Italian jockey’s fifth success in the race (still four victories behind Bill Scott who rode nine winners between 1821-46).
“We always look forward to the St Leger stakes – it has that special mystic about it because it is the oldest of the Classics,” says Severn. “The top jockeys and trainers are here and it’s usually a decent race. It’s the last Classic of the season and then it’s winter. They say, ‘the last horse that crosses the line in the St Leger has got snow on its tail’.
“There is a real buzz around the town and the build-up to the festival is very exciting. Everybody comes down here suited and booted and Ladies Day, Thursday, is usually sold out well in advance – all the girls dress up and look fantastic. It’s a great spectacle, and with it having a Group 1 race we get people from all over. But it is very well supported by local people from Yorkshire.”
And how do Gerherty Racing compete with the national bookmakers? Severn explains: “With it being our big festival of the year we have a lot of promotions – guaranteed prices, quarterly odds on all the races and Lucky15s.
“If people want to go to the St Leger Festival mainly for the social side of things, they can put their bets on with us before they head to the course and then enjoy their afternoon without that hassle. We are also the local bookmaker on-course, so we do very well out of the week.”
But the bookies could do even better if a horse with long odds romps to victory, which seldom happens during the Festival. Indeed, in the last 15 St Leger Stakes a total of 11 have been won by the favourite – and the lowest odds for any of the 15 winning horses was 8/1.
“I can’t see it being any different this year,” Severn continues. “If the best horses turn up and the ground is right, then we don’t usually get outsiders winning it anymore. It’s not great for us – we want a big price winner – but we will smile as usual.”
The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Harbinger was cut to short odds for this year’s Ladbrokes St Leger Stakes after his Gordon Stakes victory at Goodwood in late July and, after Conduit’s success last year, Stoute will be hoping for impressive back-to-back victories in Doncaster.
However Aiden O’Brien, who is no stranger to success in the race having trained three previous winners (Milan 2001, Brian Boru 2003, Scorpion 2005), is confident, with 15 entries in the 41-stong field, he can upset Stoute’s hegemony. His Irish Derby runner-up, Golden Sword, is Labrokes’ favourite at 4-1. As with St Leger and Rockingham’s chargers in 1776, the focal point of the St Leger Festival again promises to be fascinating and profitable for all involved.
Labels: Horse racing, st leger
