Hi all,
It’s been a fascinating few days between Doncaster’s St Leger Festival and Irish Champions Weekend.
Inside today’s main piece I’m looking back at my highlights of St Leger Day.
Scandinavia Toughs It Out in a Classic Finish
Before looking at race itself, let’s deal with the elephant in the room: the going. Doncaster’s official description was “good to soft,” switched to “soft” after the Portland Handicap. Yet that race was run just 0.93s above standard, and the St Leger itself actually beat standard time by 0.87s. The form book will record the final Classic was run on soft ground, but the clock tells a different story — it simply wasn’t.
The St Leger isn’t the race it once was. In an era when breeding prizes precocity and speed, the final Classic can feel like an anachronism. Still, this year’s renewal carried extra intrigue: Lambourn, a dual Derby winner, became the first Epsom hero to run in the race since Camelot’s failed Triple Crown bid in 2012. He was joined by stablemates recent Goodwood Cup winner Scandinavia and Stay True in a three-strong Aidan O’Brien challenge.
Lambourn set a brisk gallop, with Scandinavia tracking nicely in behind. Two furlongs out, Scandinavia took over. First, he fended off Carmers, then Stay True loomed up with what looked a winning run. But he edged left inside the final furlong and didn’t finish off as strongly as the winner. That left Rahiebb as the final danger. Outpaced three furlongs out, he finished strongly to get within a neck of Scandinavia at the line.
It was a tough, grinding performance from the winner, who showed the hallmarks of a proper stayer in what looked a slow-motion finish which you can watch here.
Future Stayers Step Forward
Scandinavia looks every inch a successor to stablemate Kyprios as Ballydoyle’s next staying champion. Rahiebb will also have a say in the top staying races next year, while Carmers could step forward again. Stay True may prove better back at 1m 4f. As for Lambourn, you can’t take away his two Derby triumphs, but his fourth-place run – unsuited by the ground or not – probably sums him up.
This year’s St Leger may have seen just seven runners, but the race produced a thrilling finish. Even more importantly we got to see what the Leger is all about, late-maturing types who should improve more at the age of four. Nothing wrong with that.
Leopardstown Group 1s Light Up Saturday
Delacroix stamped class on the Irish Champion, while Fallen Angel fought hard in the Matron Stakes.
Fallen Angel Shows Fighting Spirit
The Matron Stakes was won by Fallen Angel, who backed up her recent success in the Group 1 Prix Rothschild in gritty style.
Inside the final furlong the result looked in doubt when the well-backed Exactly came with a challenge, but in the closing stages Fallen Angel just wanted it more and outbattled the runner-up.
Exactly’s stablemate January, who had finished just a head behind the winner in the Prix Rothschild, was weak in the pre-race betting and ran poorly. Maybe she didn’t like the addition of the first-time cheekpieces. The Aidan O’Brien hoodoo with first time cheekpieces in Group 1 races continues. He's now 0 winners from 29 runners, 4 places with horses running in the first time cheekpieces since 2010. That’s a tidy laying angle if I ever saw one.
Fallen Angel likes some juice in the ground and will be tough to beat in the Sun Chariot Stakes if getting her favoured underfoot conditions. She could also take on the males in the QE11 on Champions Day at Ascot.
Delacroix Delivers in Champion Stakes
The ground was drying out all the time at Leopardstown and the Irish Champion Stakes beat the standard by 0.91s. Looking at the time, it was quicker than the official going description of good to yielding.
No Ombudsman in the Irish Champions Stakes meant some of the gloss was taken away from the race. But we still got a high-class winner in Delacroix.
His stablemate Mount Kilimanjaro set a good even gallop and was headed by the winner, who quickened up well off the home turn to put a couple of lengths between himself and eventual runner-up Anmaat. That move proved decisive and Anmaat, who got within a length at the line, just couldn’t peg him back in the closing stages.
Delacroix is a big imposing colt who should make up into a good stallion for Coolmore, so the chances are he’ll be retired at the end of the season. There’s a small chance he and Ombudsman could clash again in the Champion Stakes on Champions Day. However, given Delacroix has plenty of speed, it’s more likely he will be dropped back to a mile for the QE11 or head to the Breeders’ Cup.
One horse who will line up in the Champion Stakes is Anmaat, who will bid to win the race for a second year running. White Birch was having his first run for 111 days and might just have needed it. Softer ground suits and he’ll strip fitter for his next race, which could be in the Arc.
Unlike some recent Group 1 contests, we got a Group 1 run as it should be. Well-run, with the best horse coming out on top at the finish.
Punting Perspective: From Promise to Frustration
Things began well enough. Thursday and Friday were profitable, and even missing Revival Power in the Flying Childers or Bob Mali going down by a neck in Friday’s concluding handicap didn’t bother me. I was still ahead.
Saturday brought a small loss. The only highlight was Marvelman’s victory in the Group 2 Betfred Park Stakes. Mind you if Apollo One had landed the Portland, I’d have been going into Sunday sitting very pretty.
Then came Sunday, and everything went wrong. I had hopes of finishing the weekend strongly at the Curragh, but it turned into a nightmare.
Illinois was my Irish St Leger pick, yet he ran a shocker. I doubt Illinois couldn't have run any worse if it had ridden him. Meanwhile Al Riffa, passed over at 15/8, went off 3/1 on good ground – that stung.
Things could have looked very different if Beautify had held on in the Moyglare. She probably hit the front too soon and was nailed late by stablemate Precise. That summed up the day.
I stayed away from the National Stakes, but Zavateri who had looked overpriced at 5/1, drifted to 15/2. For reasons best known to the market he drifted to 15/2. What a price. If only I hadn’t been out on Sunday afternoon, or I could have acted on the drift which only added to Sunday’s frustration.
Looking back, the four days were a mirror of my punting year: two good ones, one acceptable, and one nightmare. Sadly, it’s the bad one that leaves the strongest impression.
Yes, it was an interesting weekend! Frustrated and down but most certainly not out.
In Tuesday’s column I’ll continue my look back at last week’s action with more of my highlights from Doncaster and Irish Champions Weekend.
Good luck with your Monday bets.
John