Ten declared for St Leger
There will be 10 runners for the final Classic of the season, the Ladbrokes St Leger at Doncaster, on Saturday. Ed Dunlop has committed his dual Oaks winner Snow Fairy – weather permitting – and has booked Eddie Ahern for the ride.
There were no major withdrawals from the field, which is headed by Rewilding, the Godolphin runner trained by Mahmood al Zarooni, on whom Frankie Dettori will be attempting to win the race for the third time in six years.
Aidan O'Brien cut his possible runners in half, with Bright Horizon and Flying Cross staying at home, as will be stable jockey Johnny Murtagh with Colm O'Donoghue taking the ride on Midas Touch and Jamie Spencer on Joshua Tree, who were second and third respectively to Rewilding in the Group Two Voltigeur at York last month.
Hopes for a northern-trained winner of the St Leger rest with James Given's progressive Dandino while champion jockey elect Paul Hanagan comes in for the ride on Theology for Jeremy Noseda. Richard Hughes had been offered the mount but will now be on duty at Goodwood instead.
The remainder of the field is made up of Arctic Cosmos, Corsica, and Ted Spread.
Dunlop had been agonizing over whether or not to run the filly if the track at Doncaster, which had been hit by heavy rain earlier in the week, might become too much of a stamina test for Snow Fairy, although the ground appears to be drying. She handled a mile-and-a-half on soft ground well enough when she won the Irish Oaks at the Curragh in July but the trainer has expressed doubts over whether she could perform as well over the extra two-and-a-half furlongs for the St Leger in such conditions.
However, Dunlop admits that such doubts were also in his mind in terms of 12 furlongs before Snow Fairy won the Oaks. Both of those victories were with Ryan Moore in the saddle but, with the champion jockey claimed by Sir Michael Stoute to ride Total Command, Dunlop has turned to Ahern who rode Snow Fairy when she won a Listed race at Goodwood in May.
“Following Monday's heavy rain, the weather has done a u-turn on Town Moor, and things are looking much more favourable, though they are talking of a possible eight millimetres of rain on Friday night, so we will have to hope that they have got that wrong,” Dunlop said on his website.
“Snow Fairy is in great form, and, while it's disappointing that we can't have Ryan Moore, who has been claimed by Sir Michael Stoute for Total Command, Eddie Ahern is a more than able deputy. Eddie did the job for us on Native Khan in the Solario Stakes at Sandown, and let's hope we get lucky together again.”
Ahern (pictured), who also has the ride on Approve in the Group Two Neptune Investment Management Champagne Stakes for William Haggas earlier on the card, will be attempting to win his first British Classic. “It’s great to get the ride. The way she won at the Curragh, on soft ground, you’d nearly think that she’ll stay all day and won’t mind the ground at Doncaster,” Ahern said.
“I was just wondering, if the ground was soft, would that affect Frankie’s horse. Mine would definitely like it bit would Frankie’s?”
Snow Fairy will be attempting to become the first filly to win the St Leger since User Friendly in 1992 and Profound Beauty will be trying to follow Kastoria, in 2006, as the next filly or mare to win the Irish Field Irish St Leger at the Curragh on the same day, for which there are eight runners.
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