The turf | 15 September 2016

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.