The Saturday of Doncaster’s St Leger meeting offers something for everyone: the fifth and final ‘classic’ of the season and a ridiculously competitive sprint handicap for starters, with much more besides.
I will start by looking at the Group 1 Betfred St Leger (tomorrow 3.35 p.m.), which is the longest flat racing classic over a distance of more than one mile six furlongs. Given that most racehorses are bred for speed these days, this means that, at only three years old, many talented thoroughbreds do not have the stamina to last the trip.
With the ground likely to be on the soft side of good tomorrow, backing a strong stayer is a must in this race, which has a first prize of more than £420,000. The likely favourite, Arrest, ticks plenty of the right boxes and would be a popular winner, given he will be Frankie Dettori’s final mount in an English classic (unless the rider does a U-turn on his decision to retire, that is).
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