The St Leger Stakes is a

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flat

horse race Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, 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, as its bas ...

in Great Britain open to three-year-old

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

colts and fillies. It is run at

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

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 Classic races. 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 The 2000 Guineas Stakes is a Group 1 flat race in Great Britain open to three-year-old thoroughbred colts and fillies. It is run on the Rowley Mile at Newmarket over a distance of 1 mile (1.6 km) and scheduled to take place each yea ...

and continues with the

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

. 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 ...

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 legendary castle and Royal court, court associated with 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 ...

, 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. The filly was later named Allabaculia. 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, Competition, contest or competition. There can be a territorial pyramid of championships, e.g. local, regional/provincial/state, national, continental and world champi ...

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

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(1941), Newmarket (1942–44) and

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

(1945). The race was switched to Ayr 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 Prix Royal-Oak, the Deutsches St. Leger and the St. Leger Italiano. Other national equivalents include the Kikuka-shō, the New Zealand St. Leger and the VRC St Leger.

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 Archibald Hamilton, 9th Duke of Hamilton and 6th Duke of Brandon (15 July 1740 – 16 February 1819) was a Scottish peer and politician. Background and education Hamilton was the second son of the 5th Duke of Hamilton, by his third wife, An ...

– ''Paragon (1786), Spadille (1787), Young Flora (1788), Tartar (1792), Petronius (1808), Ashton (1809), William (1814)'' * Fastest winning time ''(at Doncaster)'' –

Logician Logic is the study of correct reasoning. It includes both formal and informal logic. Formal logic is the study of deductively valid inferences or logical truths. It examines how conclusions follow from premises based on the structure of arg ...

(2019), 3m 00.27s * Widest winning margin – Never Say Die (1954), 12 lengths * Longest odds winner – Theodore (1822), 200/1 * Shortest odds winner – Galtee More (1897), 1/10 * Most runners – 30, in 1825 * Fewest runners – 3, in 1917

Winners

In popular culture

As the last of the

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

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

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"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 people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

novel '' The A.B.C. Murders'' has the St Leger as a plot point near the end of the novel.

References

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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 September in sports