It’s certainly been a year to remember – and forget – and we’ve still plenty of Flat turf action to look forward to with Champions Day at Ascot, plus the two big Autumn meetings at Newmarket.
But this month the focus is on the final English Classic of the season – the William Hill St Leger, run – as always – at Doncaster. This year the race will be staged on Saturday, September 12.
The St Leger, which was first run in 1776, is the oldest of the five English Classics, so the 1m 6 1/2f contest has loads of history and a bundle of key trends to take into account.
Twelve months ago we saw the powerful John Gosden yard land the race with Logician – it was the stable’s fifth win in the race and they're fourth since 2010. While their classy grey became the fourth winning favorite in the last seven renewals.
It’s also a contest Aidan O’Brien likes to target – the Ballydoyle handler has won the first prize six times in total and twice in the last three years.
In terms of jockeys, it seems to be a race in which the cream rises to the top. We’ve seen Frankie Dettori, William Buick and Andrea Atzeni all win St Leger twice since 2008, while, in total, Dettori has six St Legers to his name so anything the pocket Italian rides is sure to be popular.
Let’s take a look at some of the key St Leger trends... Trip Advisor – With St Leger run over 1m6f this is likely to be the first or only the second, time these 3-year-olds have tackled this sort of distance. Therefore, a certain degree of trust has to be taken into account as to whether some of these horses can get home.
Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av Racing Ahead.
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Denne historien er fra September 2020-utgaven av Racing Ahead.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
LOOKING BRIGHT FOR IRISH STARS
Karl Hedley reports as jumps challengers pile on the heat across the water
WELL SET TO STEP AHEAD
Ben Morgan has ten warming prospects to follow in the coming weeks
CUE FOR MANY A CELEBRATION
Graham Buddry recalls the life and times of jumps legend Cue Card
KID KAN DOO FOR NICHOLLS
Paul Jacobs casts a close eye over leading picks for this month's big races
TWISTER RUNS MASTER CLASS
John Anthony watches Nigel Twiston-Davies' star catch time judges' eye
NO LEAVES ON LINE TO SLOW THESE FLYERS
Simon Nott enjoys a West Country Weekend catching up with ring pals
EXPECTATIONS SOAR AT RIDGE
Nick Townsend talks to rising Newmarket training star James Owen
KID KAN DOO FOR NICHOLLS
Paul Jacobs casts a close eye over leading picks for this month's big races
NORMA'S COLOURS ARE FLYING PROUD
Robert Cooper sees Percy Willis and Kaadam grace white and green spots and red cap
CHIANTI FLOWS AS NEW LION GROWLS
Prior to the National Hunt season 'proper' getting underway at Chepstow the question on many people's lips was whether or not Willie Mullins would target a second consecutive British trainers' title.