A Tale of Two St Legers?

[Richard Stoddart]

This used to be the weekend of the St Leger and Irish Champion Stakes, but a few years back someone decided to complain that all the top-class jockeys were at Leopardstown and not at Doncaster. My opinion at the time was 'who can blame them?' If you have the choice to ride in a genuine Group 1 or washed-up Classic, which one are you going to choose? For me there was nothing wrong with Dettori, Murtagh and Kinane all being at Leopardstown, as the likes of the underrated McEvoy were filling their shoes at Doncaster.

But now we still have the situation where we have the St.Leger and Irish St Leger being run on the same day! Both Group Ones, both over 1m6f and a bit, the only difference being that the British version isn't open to older horses. This has to be the craziest piece of race planning ever. You would never getthe two Oaks or Derbys run on the same day or the two Grand Nationals, so why the St Leger? Even worse, if you have a decent three-year old stayer in training it cuts down your options somewhat. If anything we should be encouraging the two racing authorities to put more time between the two races as what we should be trying to encourage is the likes of the St Leger winner taking on Yeats et al in the Irish version some weeks later, much like the Derby and Oaks arrangement. Racing is always saying they are pushing for top-class horses taking on other top-class horses to try and encourage a greater attendance, so how can they get this arrangement so blatantly wrong?

[Gordon McIvor Wilson]

As I am temporarily Our Man in the Emerald Isle, I will endeavour to canvass local opinion when we are at Balloo House, the legendary N Irish restaurant/brasserie owned by Ronan Sweeney on Strangford Lough. May take a while, the locals are keen on the top-class grub on offer from renowned prize-winning Chef, Danny Millar. Folk are not to be distracted, but racing topics will always tempt an informed aside from the knowledgeable clientele.