History of the Race
The final Classic of the British Flat season, the longest in distance and the oldest in years. Open to three-year-old colts and fillies and staged in September at Doncaster over 1 mile 6 furlongs and 132 yards (2,920 metres), the race began life in 1776. The event was thought up by Anthony St. Leger, an army officer and politician living near Doncaster. It was originally run over two miles, with colts carrying 8st, and fillies 7st 12lb.
The Ladbrokes St Leger is the final leg of the English Triple Crown, following the QIPCO 2000 Guineas and the Investec Derby. It also completes the Fillies' Triple Crown, which begins with the QIPCO 1000 Guineas and the Investec Oaks.
Camelot was the most recent horse to head to Doncaster following victories in the Newmarket and Epsom Classics in 2012 but the Aidan O'Brien-trained colt could only finish second to Encke, who provided Godolphin with a sixth success in the race.
One of the best recent winners was Conduit in 2007, for trainer Sir Michael Stoute (his first St Leger victory, completing his full house of English classic races). In his next start Conduit was triumphant in the Breeders’ Cup Turf in the USA and the following year he won that race again, preceded by a famous victory in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.
Current leading jockey: Frankie Dettori, 5 wins (1995-6, 2005-6, 2008)
Current leading trainer: Saeed bin Suroor, 5 wins (1995, 1998-9, 2004, 2009)
Previous Winners
| Year | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Owner |
| 2012 | Encke | Mickael Barzalona | Mahmood Al Zarooni | Godolphin |
| 2011 | Masked Marvel | William Buick | John Gosden | Bjorn Nielsen |
| 2010 | Arctic Cosmos | William Buick | John Gosden | Rachel Hood/Robin Geffen |
| 2009 | Mastery | Ted Durcan | Saeed bin Suroor | Godolphin |
| 2008 | Conduit | Frankie Dettori | Sir Michael Stoute | Ballymacoll Stud |
| 2007 | Lucarno | Jimmy Fortune | John Gosden | George Strawbridge |
| 2006 | Sixties Icon | Frankie Dettori | Jeremy Noseda | Susan Roy |
| 2005 | Scorpion | Frankie Dettori | Aidan O’Brien | Magnier/Tabor |
| 2004 | Rule of Law | Kerrin McEvoy | Saeed bin Suroor | Godolphin |
| 2003 | Brian Boru | Jamie Spencer | Aidan O’Brien | Sue Magnier |
| 2002 | Bollin Eric | Kevin Darley | Tim Easterby | Sir Neil Westbrook |
| 2001 | Milan | Michael Kinane | Aidan O’Brien | Tabor/Magnier |
| 2000 | Millenary | Richard Quinn | John Dunlop | Neil Jones |
About the Course
Doncaster’s local authorities tried to ban horseracing a few years ago – well, 400 years ago, to be exact – because of the hordes of ruffians that the races attracted. Eventually, they gave up, marking out a racecourse instead. The result? One of the country’s biggest horseracing centres and the home of two of the world’s oldest races, the Doncaster Cup and the Ladbrokes St Leger. Both feature in the QIPCO British Champions Series
The south Yorkshire venue, also known as Town Moor, is a left-handed, pear-shaped track, with courses for both Flat and Jump racing. A £34 million facelift, concluding in 2007, transformed it into one of the most modern in Europe. As for Doncaster’s ruffians, they’ve moved on, replaced by real horse connoisseurs. When the venue staged Britain’s first Sunday race meeting in 1992, 23,000 people turned up… even though betting was not allowed on the Sabbath.
Find out about racing at Doncaster
