The St Leger Stakes is a

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flat

horse race Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, ...

in Great Britain open to three-year-old

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

colts and fillies. It is run at

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

over a distance of 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 115 yards (2,921 metres), and it is scheduled to take place each year in September. Established in 1776, the St Leger is the oldest of Britain's five

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. It is the last of the five to be run each year, and its distance is longer than any of the other four. The St Leger is the final leg of the English Triple Crown, which begins with the 2000 Guineas and continues with the

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

. It also completes the Fillies' Triple Crown, following on from the

1000 Guineas The 1000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat horse race in Great Britain open to three-year-old fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1,60 ...

and the Oaks. The St Leger has rarely featured Triple Crown contenders in recent decades, with the only one in recent years being the 2012 2,000 Guineas and Derby winner

Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and, since the Lancelot-Grail cycle, eventually came to be described as th ...

, who finished second in the St Leger.

History

Early years

The event was devised by Anthony St Leger, an army officer and politician who lived near Doncaster. It was initially referred to as "A Sweepstake of 25 Guineas", and its original distance was two miles. The rules stipulated that colts and geldings were to carry 8 st, and fillies would receive an allowance of 2 lb. The inaugural running was held at Cantley Common on 24 September 1776. The first winner was an unnamed filly owned by the event's organiser, the

2nd Marquess of Rockingham Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782; styled The Hon. Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1733, Viscount Higham between 1733 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750 and The Marquess of Rocking ...

. The filly was later named

Allabaculia Allabaculia, or alternatively Alabaculia, (foaled 1773) was a British racemare that was the winner of the first St. Leger Stakes in 1776. Her maternal pedigree was not recorded and she did not race under the name "Allabaculia", with the name bes ...

. The title St Leger Stakes was decided at a dinner party held in 1778 at the Red Lion Inn located in the Market Place, Doncaster, to discuss the coming year's race. It was suggested that it should be called the Rockingham Stakes in honour of the host, the Marquess of Rockingham, but the Marquess proposed that it should be named instead after Anthony St Leger. That year the event was moved to its present location, Town Moor, in 1778. The race came to national prominence in 1800, when a horse called

Champion A champion (from the late Latin ''campio'') is the victor in a challenge, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional / provincial, state, national, continental and world championships, a ...

registered the first Derby–St Leger double. Its length was cut to 1 mile, 6 furlongs and 193 yards in 1813, and despite some minor alterations has remained much the same ever since. The victory of West Australian in 1853 completed the first success in the Triple Crown.

Post-1900

The St Leger Stakes was closed to geldings in 1906. It was transferred to Newmarket during World War I, and the substitute event was called the September Stakes. It was cancelled in 1939 because of the outbreak of World War II, and the following year's edition was held at

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological ...

in November. For the remainder of this period it was staged at

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...

(1941), Newmarket (1942–44) and

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

(1945). The race was switched to

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

in 1989 after the scheduled running at Doncaster was abandoned due to subsidence. The 2006 race took place at York because its regular venue was closed for redevelopment. The St Leger Stakes has inspired a number of similar events around the world, although many are no longer restricted to three-year-olds. European variations include the

Irish St. Leger The Irish St Leger is a Group 1 flat horse race in Ireland open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at the Curragh over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (2,816 metres), and it i ...

, the Prix Royal-Oak, the Deutsches St. Leger and the

St. Leger Italiano The St. Leger Italiano is a Group 3 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,800 metres (about 1¾ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in October. It is Ita ...

. Other national equivalents include the Kikuka-shō, the New Zealand St. Leger and the

VRC St Leger The VRC St Leger is a Group races, Listed Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run at set weights with penalties, over a distance of 2800 metres at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia on ANZAC Day. History First run in 1857, ...

Records

Leading jockey (9 wins): * Bill Scott – ''Jack Spigot (1821), Memnon (1825), The Colonel (1828), Rowton (1829), Don John (1838), Charles the Twelfth (1839), Launcelot (1840), Satirist (1841), Sir Tatton Sykes (1846)'' Leading trainer (16 wins): * John Scott – ''Matilda (1827), The Colonel (1828), Rowton (1829), Margrave (1832), Touchstone (1834), Don John (1838), Charles the Twelfth (1839), Launcelot (1840), Satirist (1841), The Baron (1845), Newminster (1851), West Australian (1853), Warlock (1856), Imperieuse (1857), Gamester (1859), The Marquis (1862)'' Leading owner (7 wins): * Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton – ''Paragon (1786), Spadille (1787), Young Flora (1788), Tartar (1792), Petronius (1808), Ashton (1809), William (1814)'' * Fastest winning time ''(at Doncaster)'' – Logician (2019), 3m 00.27s * Widest winning margin – Never Say Die (1954), 12 lengths * Longest odds winner –

Theodore Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory * Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saskatche ...

(1822), 200/1 * Shortest odds winner –

Galtee More Galtee More (1894–1917) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse and sire. In a career that lasted from 1896 to 1897 he ran thirteen times and won eleven races. As a three-year-old in 1897 he became the seventh horse to ...

(1897), 1/10 * Most runners – 30, in 1825 * Fewest runners – 3, in 1917

Winners

In popular culture

As the last of the

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, the race marks the end of summer in England. The popular

adage An adage (; Latin: adagium) is a memorable and usually philosophical aphorism that communicates an important truth derived from experience, custom, or both, and that many people consider true and credible because of its longeval tradition, i ...

"sell in May and go away, come back on St Leger Day" suggests investors should sell their shares in May and buy again after the race. The

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fiction ...

novel ''

The A.B.C. Murders ''The A.B.C. Murders'' is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, featuring her characters Hercule Poirot, Arthur Hastings and Chief Inspector Japp, as they contend with a series of killings by a mysterious murderer kn ...

'' has the St Leger as a plot point near the end of the novel.

References

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Racing Post ''Racing Post'' is a British daily horse racing, greyhound racing and sports betting publisher which is published in print and digital formats. It is printed in tabloid format from Monday to Sunday. , it has an average daily circulation of ...

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galopp-sieger.de
– ''St. Leger Stakes.''
horseracinghistory.co.uk
– ''St. Leger.''
ifhaonline.org
– ''International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – St. Leger (2019).''
pedigreequery.com
– ''St. Leger Stakes – Doncaster.''

– ''St. Leger Stakes.''

Bibliography

* * * * Ruffs Guide to the Turf, Winter Edition, 1920 {{British Champions Series Flat races in Great Britain Doncaster Racecourse Flat horse races for three-year-olds Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing Recurring sporting events established in 1776 1776 establishments in England British Champions Series September sporting events