Posted by Matt Bisogno on September 10, 2010 · 2 Comments
It’s the Ladbrokes St Leger from Doncaster tomorrow, dear reader, and the oldest Classic in the sport deserves a touch of analysis from Geegeez, methinks. In today’s post, I’ve also got another download freebie for you (which I use every day myself), and some follow up answers to questions I received earlier in the week.
So let’s get cracking with the St Leger.
As a Classic race, the St Leger is only open to three year olds, of both sexes. The race is run over the longest trip of any of the Classics, 1m 6f 132yds (which is actually only about 300 yards short of two miles).
Despite being somewhat maligned as an anachronism, the race has produced some very smart winners in recent years, including Milan, Sixties Icon and Conduit since 2001.
Aidan O’Brien has won it three times in the last nine years, though not in the last four years, despite having runners sent off at odds of 13/8, 9/4 and 3/1.
Six of the last ten St Leger winners were favourite or joint favourite, so it’s probably not race to side with a big outsider. In fact, given the other quartet of winners were offered at 7/2, 7/1, 8/1 and 14/1, I think it should pay to focus on the top of the market here.
We have to go back to 1994 and Moonax to find the last horse to win the St Leger priced at bigger than 14/1. And how! Dear old Moonax was actually a 40/1 shot when taking this race, and proved it was no fluke by following up in the Group 1 two miler, Prix Royal Oak at Longchamp. As a thank you for his sterling efforts… he was sent hurdling!!! (Three starts and no wins later, that plan was reconsidered, quite rightly too.)
So, let’s take a quick peek at the runners and riders for this year’s event:
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