All nine horses who were entered at the beginning of the week for the £743,000 Betfred St Leger (Group 1) have been declared to run at Doncaster this Saturday, with Frankie Dettori choosing to ride Arrest instead of stablemate and ante-post favourite Gregory.
It was thought Dettori would keep the faith with the Wathnan Racing-owned Gregory whom he has ridden on his most recent two starts, including when winning the the Queens Vase (Group 2) at Royal Ascot. However, with soft already in the going description at Doncaster and with the possibility of more rain forecast, Dettori - a six-time winner of the St Leger, has decided to ride Arrest,whom should relish the softer conditions underfoot, while Kieran Shoemark takes the ride on Gregory.
The son of Frankel, sent off favourite for the Betfred Derby in June, got back to winning ways with an impressive victory in the Geoffrey Freer Stakes at Newbury last time out.
The John & Thady Gosden stable have launched a three-pronged attack on the 1m 6f Doncaster showpiece, with Melrose Handicap winner Middle Earth also declared, as three-time Champion Jockey Oisin Murphy bids for a first success in the race.
His Majesty King Charles III will be looking to emulate his late mother Queen Elizabeth II by winning racing's oldest Classic, as Desert Hero lines up for trainer William Haggas and jockey Tom Marquand. The progressive son of Sea The Stars has won his last two starts, including a victory at Royal Ascot. Yorkshire-born trainer Haggas has never trained a Betfred St Leger winner before.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained quartet of Continuous, Alexandropoulis, Tower Of London and Denmark have all been confirmed. The six-time St Leger winning-trainer is bidding to win the race for the first time since Kew Gardens was successful in 2018.O’Brien said: “It would be incredible to win another Betfred St Leger. It is a very difficult race to win, it’s a very prestigious race. You don’t ever take it for granted. Anytime it happens, it’s very special.”
The consistent Chesspiece - trained by Simon and Ed Crisford - hasn’t finished out of the first three on any of his six career starts. After only finishing a neck-second to Desert Hero at the Qatar Goodwood Festival, there is plenty of hope for connections that the Godolphin runner can outrun his double-figure odds.
Mark Pearson, Head of Media at Betfred, said:
“Another twist in the tale for the Betfred St Leger with Frankie Dettori switching to ride Arrest in his final classic ride. The weather gods have spoken and so have the punters as he is now one of three co0favourites at 7/2. Stablemate Gregory has eased as a result and to the same price while the shortest of Aidan O’Brien’s quartet, Great Voltigeur winner Continuous is a the third co favourite.
“It is not just a Frankie Dettori winner though that will make the front pages, as victory for Desert Hero, owned by Their Majesties The King and The Queen will see horse racing making all the headlines. He is a 9/2 shot for Betfred St Leger glory.
