Betfred St Leger Festival
Steeped in over 400 years of
history, the Betfred St Leger is the world’s oldest classic.
Founded in 1776 by Colonel Anthony St. Leger, the Betfred St Leger
Festival is the highlight of Doncaster’s year, acclaimed as the premier
sporting occasion of the Autumn calendar.
The St Leger Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 115 yards (2,921 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.
Established in 1776, the St Leger is the oldest of Britain's five Classics. It is the last of the five to be run each year, and its distance is longer than any of the other four.
The St Leger is the final leg of the English Triple Crown, which begins with the 2000 Guineas and continues with the Derby. It also completes the Fillies' Triple Crown, following on from the 1000 Guineas and the Oaks.
The St Leger has rarely featured Triple Crown contenders in recent
decades, with the only one in recent years being the 2012 2,000 Guineas
and Derby winner Camelot, who finished second in the St Leger.
The event was devised by Anthony St Leger,
an army officer and politician who lived near Doncaster. It was
initially referred to as "A Sweepstake of 25 Guineas", and its original
distance was two miles. The rules stipulated that colts and geldings
were to carry 8 st, and fillies would receive an allowance of 2 lb.
The inaugural running was held at Cantley Common on 24 September
1776. The first winner was an unnamed filly owned by the event's
organiser, the 2nd Marquess of Rockingham. The filly was later named Allabaculia.
The title St Leger Stakes was decided at a dinner party held in 1778
at the Red Lion Inn located in the Market Place, Doncaster, to discuss
the coming year's race. It was suggested that it should be called the
Rockingham Stakes in honour of the host, the Marquess of Rockingham, but
the Marquess proposed that it should be named instead after Anthony St
Leger. That year the event was moved to its present location, Town Moor, in 1778.[2]
The race came to national prominence in 1800, when a horse called Champion
registered the first Derby–St Leger double. Its length was cut to
1 mile, 6 furlongs and 193 yards in 1813, and despite some minor
alterations has remained much the same ever since. The victory of West Australian in 1853 completed the first success in the Triple Crown.
The St Leger Stakes was closed to geldings in 1906. It was transferred to Newmarket
during World War I, and the substitute event was called the September
Stakes. It was cancelled in 1939 because of the outbreak of World War
II, and the following year's edition was held at Thirsk in November. For the remainder of this period it was staged at Manchester (1941), Newmarket (1942–44) and York (1945).
The race was switched to Ayr in 1989 after the scheduled running at Doncaster was abandoned due to
subsidence. The 2006 race took place at York because its regular venue
was closed for redevelopment.
The St Leger Stakes has inspired a number of similar events around
the world, although many are no longer restricted to three-year-olds.
European variations include the Irish St. Leger, the Prix Royal-Oak, the Deutsches St. Leger and the St. Leger Italiano. Other national equivalents include the Kikuka-shō, the New Zealand St. Leger and the VRC St Leger.
Triple Crown
In England, where the term Triple Crown originated with West Australian's three wins in 1853, it is made up of:
1)The 2,000 Guineas Stakes, run over 1m (1,609 metres) at Newmarket Racecourse in Newmarket, Suffolk
2) The Derby, run over 1m 4f and 10y (2,423 metres) at Epsom Downs Racecourse in Epsom, Surrey
3)The St Leger Stakes, run over 1m 6f and 132y (2,937 metres) at Town Moor in Doncaster, Yorkshire
Since the 2,000 Guineas was first run in 1809, fifteen horses
(including three winners of substitute races at Newmarket during the
First World War) have won the English Triple Crown. The most recent –
and only winner since World War II – was Nijinsky,
in 1970. For many years, it was considered unlikely that any horse
would ever win the English Triple Crown again. In the winter of
2006/2007, however, trainer Jim Bolger was training his unbeaten colt Teofilo for the Triple Crown[1] and bookmaker William Hill plc was offering odds of only 12/1 against Teofilo winning the 2007 Triple
Crown. The horse was withdrawn from the 2000 Guineas two days before the
race after suffering a setback and never raced again.
Since Nijinsky, only Nashwan (1989), Sea the Stars (2009), and Camelot (2012) have won both the Guineas and the Derby. Between Reference Point in 1987 and Camelot
in 2012, no Derby winner (not even the potential Triple Crown winners
Nashwan and Sea the Stars) even entered the St. Leger. This reluctance
to compete in the St. Leger is said to be because of the impact it would
have on a horse's stud value in a market where speed is preferred to stamina.
The other main supporting races of the Doncaster Festival are :
The Doncaster Cup is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 2 miles 1 furlong and 197 yards (3,600 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.
The Doncaster Cup is one of Britain's leading events for "stayers" –
horses which specialise in racing over long distances. It is the final
leg of the Stayers' Triple Crown, preceded by the Gold Cup and the Goodwood Cup. The Doncaster Cup is the only British race where the winner has ballot-exempt entry to the Melbourne Cup.[2]
The Sceptre Stakes is a Group 3 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 7 furlongs and 6 yards (1,414 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.
The event is named after Sceptre, a successful filly foaled in 1899. Her victories included four Classics, concluding with Doncaster's St Leger Stakes.
May Hill Stakes
The May Hill Stakes is currently held on the first day of the four-day St. Leger Festival.
The leading horses from the race often go on to compete in the Fillies' Mile. The last to win both was Inspiral in 2022.
Park Hill Stakes
The Park Hill Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to fillies and mares aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 115 yards (2,922 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.
The Flying Childers
The Flying Childers Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old horses. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 5 furlongs and 3 yards (1,008 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.
The Flying Childers Stakes is currently run on the second day of Doncaster's four-day St Leger Festival, the day before the St Leger Stakes.
Champagne Stakes
The Champagne Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to two-year-old colts and geldings. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 7 furlongs and 6 yards (1,414 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.
Park Stakes
The Park Stakes is a Group 2 flat horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 7 furlongs and 6 yards (1,414 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.
Portland Handicap
The Portland Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged three years or older. It is run at Doncaster over a distance of 5 furlongs and 143 yards (1,137 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September.
The event was established in 1855, and for a period it was known as
the Portland Plate. The original course started opposite a coaching inn
called Red House, and it featured a left-handed bend at about halfway.
The race was later transferred to a straight course.
The Portland Handicap is held during Doncaster's four-day St. Leger
Festival, and it is currently staged on the third day, the same day as
the St Leger Stakes.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Selections will be posted through the week)
