Doncaster Saturday

Betfred St Leger Stakes (Group 1)

CONTINUOUS (Ryan Moore) ran out a convincing winner of Saturday’s St Leger, dispelling stamina doubts and providing trainer Aidan O’Brien with his seventh winner of the oldest classic.

Sent off the 3/1 second favourite on the back of an impressive victory in the Great Voltigeur at York, Continuous confirmed the striking impression he’d made on the Knavesmire to score a near-three-length success over market leader Arrest (John and Thady Gosden/Frankie Dettori), with Desert Hero (William Haggas/Tom Marquand) third in the colours of King Charles and Queen Camilla, who were on hand to watch the colt run.

Held up as Denmark and Gregory made the early running, Continuous made an eye-catching move towards the inside rail in the straight which carried him to the front with over a quarter of a mile to race.

And while that may have been earlier than ideal, the colt showed no signs of tying up as he raced into unknown territory. He is clearly thriving as autumn looms.

O’Brien said: “He got the distance very well in York and we were not sure about the distance here, but he has got it well. There are a lot of possibilities, and it will be down to the lads, the Arc is in two weeks and is a possibility, but we’ll talk to Ryan and see what they want to do.

“He’s a lot of class this horse and he does stay, and he does handle soft ground. There is every chance he could, he’s a hardy horse and he could back up in two weeks. The lads will decide that, but I would say there is a chance.”

Buzz and passion

O’Brien was aware that the big crowd on Town Moor were not just here to see his Leger winner, and he made particular mention of Doncaster’s other big draws on the track’s most prestigious day.

“It’s so special that the King and Queen were here, you could see the buzz around the parade ring and the passion from the crowd.

“Frankie is another who is special, he has been unbelievable. He’s beaten us in so many races I cannot tell you and I can’t wait until he retires! He’s the most unbelievable rider we’ve ever seen and a great fellow too, a very kind man, he always wants good for everybody, there’s no side to Frankie.

“He’s worked very hard all his career and he always does his best. It’s not like when he retires he’s not going to go racing, but he’s always been great friends with us. He’s ridden a lot of big winners for us, but he’s beaten us more than he’s won for us!”

This was a third St Leger win for Ryan Moore, and he put the win in context, saying: “Over these trips you want the horse to be taking you and I knew a long way out he was going well.

“He showed at York he had a turn of foot and because we went steady, I was always happy. He’s out of a Galileo mare so I was always confident he’d stay and his sire, Heart’s Cry, was the only horse who could beat Deep Impact in Japan so there was stamina there. He showed a really good turn of foot to put the race to bed and then just had a look around in the final furlong.”