Say what you like about the St Leger — and I like it a lot — Doncaster’s finale to the British Classics rarely fails to provide a story. In 2012 it was Camelot’s narrow failure to become the first Triple Crown winner of the 2,000 Guineas, the Derby and the Leger since Nijinsky in 1970. Last year the filly Simple Verse was disqualified after being first past the post and then reinstated. This year it was both the dramatic tumble of the odds-on favourite Idaho mid-race and the last-gasp victory of Harbour Law, trainer Laura Mongan’s first-ever entry in a Classic. As one who has long argued that only ridiculous fashion sees Epsom ignored by many top owners as a training centre and that the handlers there would produce the results if they were only given the ammunition, I was delighted to see Laura and her husband/assistant Ian use their time in the spotlight to drum that message home. Those who only want to crab the final Classic will probably argue that Harbour Law’s victory merely confirms that it was a substandard year in a declining race. They are wrong. Despite sharing the 20-horse yard with some low-grade handicappers and jumpers, Harbour Law has been impeccably handled, he is a true stayer and he will prove the point in next year’s Cup races.
The glories of the St Leger, which originated in 1776, have been admirably recorded in a comprehensive and sumptuously produced new limited-edition volume by Tony Barber, The St Leger: A history of the world’s first Classic horserace (Raceform, £75), which reminds us how many of racing’s great stars have included Doncaster’s supreme test of three-year-old stamina among their victories. They include Ormonde, Hyperion, Formosa, Pretty Polly, Sceptre (the filly who is the only horse to have won four Classics) and of course Bahram (1935) and Nijinsky(1970), the last two horses to have achieved the Triple Crown.
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