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2026 St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap Preview
Scheduled to take place in September of each year at the Doncaster racecourse is this class two handicap that is run over a distance of one mile and four furlongs. The race is open to runners aged three or older and is run during the St Leger Festival.
St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap Information:
- St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap Past Winners
- St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap Trainer Statistics
- St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap Jockey Statistics
If you are interested in other predictions at Doncaster, then head over to the Doncaster tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG racing tipsters and also compare those predictions to the runners that make the trend shortlist when added below. You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal races during the Doncaster St Leger Festival section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 14 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2019 when the race had an over-round of 107%. The race in 2025 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 125%, whilst on average over the last 14 renewals of the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap, the over-round has been 115%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £115 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap races over the last 14 renewals:
- Swift Alhaarth (2:27.48) in 2011
- Viking Storm (2:28.70) in 2012
- Away He Goes (2:29.87) in 2020
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 14 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap next time out, then you would have backed a total of 2 winners. Backing all 13 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -5.62. Before placing your bet on the 2026 St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap, see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.
When looking over the past 14 renewals, a time of 2:27.48 was set by Swift Alhaarth in 2011, which is the quickest time over that period. The runner was trained by Mark Johnston and ridden by Silvestre De Sousa. The slowest winning time was set in 2023 when In The Breeze won in a time of 2:39.08, booked to ride was Tom Marquand by trainer Michael Appleby.
St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap Past Winners
Here are the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won, along with the age & weight of the horse. Also detailed is the stall where the horse came from and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 2:35.15 | Munsif (IRE) 3yo 9-5 (1 of 14) 5/2F | Ray Dawson Roger Varian (GB) |
| 2024 2:34.84 | Kildare Legend (IRE) 3yo 9-3 (7 of 13) 100/30F | Daniel Muscutt James Ferguson (GB) |
| 2023 2:39.08 | In The Breeze (IRE) 5yo 9-9 (7 of 9) 15/2 | Tom Marquand Michael Appleby (GB) |
| 2021 2:34.22 | Title (IRE) 3yo 9-7 (1 of 6) 11/10F | David Egan Roger Varian (GB) |
| 2020 2:29.87 | Away He Goes (IRE) 4yo 9-5 (4 of 5) 100/30 | Jim Crowley Ismail Mohammed (GB) |
| 2019 2:32.51 | Kitaabaat (GB) 4yo 9-4 (1 of 2) 6/4 | Andrea Atzeni David Simcock (GB) |
| 2018 2:33.39 | Byron Flyer (GB) 7yo 9-5 (4 of 5) 9/2 | William Buick Ian Williams (GB) |
| 2017 2:36.76 | Game Starter (IRE) 3yo 9-1 (2 of 6) 5/6F | Oisin Murphy Saeed bin Suroor (GB) |
| 2016 2:31.31 | Gold Trail (IRE) 5yo 9-12 (3 of 6) 5/1 | James Doyle Charlie Appleby (GB) |
| 2015 2:33.05 | Captain Morley (GB) 4yo 9-2 (1 of 7) 2/1F | Andrea Atzeni David Simcock (GB) |
St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap Trainer Statistics
There are two leading trainers in the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap over the last 14 renewals, with both Roger Varian and David Simcock, who have both won the race twice. Roger Varian winners have been with Title (2021) and Munsif (2025). David Simcock's winners have been with Captain Morley (2015) and Kitaabaat (2019).
Here are some of the top St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap trainer statistics over the last 14 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Trainer | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Varian | 7-2-2 | -1.40 | -1.75 |
| David Simcock | 5-2-2 | +0.50 | -1.75 |
| Charles Hills | 3-1-2 | +10.00 | +6.50 |
| Ian Williams | 2-1-2 | +3.50 | +4.81 |
| James Ferguson | 2-1-1 | +2.33 | +1.08 |
| Saeed bin Suroor | 2-1-1 | -0.17 | +0.52 |
| Michael Appleby | 1-1-1 | +7.50 | +4.50 |
| Charlie Appleby | 1-1-1 | +5.00 | +3.13 |
| Harry Dunlop | 1-1-1 | +4.00 | +2.40 |
| Ismail Mohammed | 1-1-1 | +3.33 | +2.08 |
St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap over the last 14 renewals is Andrea Atzeni, who has won the race three times, with those three winners coming from Mount Logan (2014), Captain Morley (2015) and Kitaabaat (2019).
Here are some of the top St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap jockey statistics over the last 14 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):
| Jockey | R-W-P | Win | EW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrea Atzeni | 7-3-3 | +1.25 | -1.70 |
| William Buick | 6-1-2 | -0.50 | +0.01 |
| Silvestre De Sousa | 6-1-2 | -2.75 | -0.15 |
| Jamie Spencer | 4-1-1 | +9.00 | +4.20 |
| Tom Marquand | 4-1-2 | +4.50 | +2.88 |
| Jim Crowley | 4-1-1 | +0.33 | -0.92 |
| Oisin Murphy | 4-1-1 | -2.17 | -2.48 |
| James Doyle | 3-1-1 | +3.00 | +2.13 |
| Daniel Muscutt | 2-1-1 | +2.33 | +1.08 |
| Ray Dawson | 2-1-1 | +1.50 | +0.56 |
2026 St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): (1, 2), 6, 8, 1, 1, (2, 3), 1, 4, 2, 2, 1, 6, 1, 1
The percentage shown is the percentage of the total number of runners who fell under that factor. High percentages are less appealing than lower ones, as you would expect them to do well.
- 14 / 14 (60%) - Beaten no more -7l (LTO)
- 14 / 14 (73%) - Fewer than 3 races (Higher Class)
- 14 / 14 (74%) - No bigger than 12/1
- 14 / 14 (75%) - Achieved an RPR of 85+ (LTO)
- 14 / 14 (77%) - Won by at least ½l (Last Win)
- 14 / 14 (80%) - Achieved a TS of 44+ (Last Win)
- 14 / 14 (82%) - In a field of 5 - 13 (Last Win)
- 14 / 14 (83%) - Fewer than 18 races (Hcps)
- 14 / 14 (83%) - Not in a Cl2-3 (Debut)
- 14 / 14 (84%) - No bigger than 14/1 (Career Win)
- 14 / 14 (85%) - Fewer than 2 races (30 Days)
- 14 / 14 (86%) - Off a break of 7 - 63 days
- 14 / 14 (86%) - Dam is not CHI/FR/GER bred
- 14 / 14 (87%) - Carried 119 - 137lbs (LTO)
- 14 / 14 (88%) - Fewer than 9 placings (Hcps)
Remember to use the trends listed above, along with the Doncaster racing predictions, to see if you can find the winner of the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap. Did you know that we have an OLBG Betting School section on OLBG? It is a place to help you improve your betting experience with articles covering numerous topics.
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St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap Trend Analysis
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 1 career win in the class, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-24.
Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:
- 2025: Winner in 1 (4,10) [14 Runners]
- 2024: Winner in 7 (4,9) [13 Runners]
- 2023: Winner in 7 (3,10) [9 Runners]
- 2021: Winner in 1 (6) [6 Runners]
- 2020: Winner in 4 (3) [5 Runners]
The courses that have produced the most winners of the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap are York, Haydock, Newmarket (July) and Ascot; there have been a total of 2 winners from each of those courses.
The race is open to both sexes, with the Male runners having produced a total of 14 winners from a total of 102 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 5 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, there is only one stallion whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap; that stallion, Sea The Stars, has produced 2 winners (2025,2024).
These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap despite multiple attempts:
- Galileo (0 Wins from 7 runners)
- Lope De Vega (0 Wins from 5 runners)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 14 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Forgotten Hero in 2013, winning for Charles Hills at odds of 12/1 under the guidance of Jamie Spencer. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 14 renewals, there have been 7 winning favourites in the race. Whilst we wait for the 2026 St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap, remember you can get daily racing predictions from the top racing tipsters on the best racing tipsters page.
Route to the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Munsif Goodwood - 6th of 13 (7/1) | Coral Pipped At The Post Winners Handicap |
| 2024 - Kildare Legend Southwell (AW) - 1st of 13 (15/8) | Golf And Gallop Package Novice Stakes |
| 2023 - In The Breeze Haydock - 1st of 11 (12/1) | Sky Bet Sunday Series Middle Distance Handicap |
| 2021 - Title Hamilton - 2nd of 6 (2/1) | Glasgow Stakes |
| 2020 - Away He Goes Deauville - 5th of 7 (25/1) | Prix Gontaut-Biron Hong Kong Jockey Club |
| 2019 - Kitaabaat Kempton (AW) - 3rd of 7 (20/1) | 32Red On The App Store Handicap |
| 2018 - Byron Flyer Newmarket (July) - 3rd of 7 (9/1) | Price Bailey "Right Advice For Life" Handicap |
| 2017 - Game Starter Newmarket (July) - 1st of 6 (4/5) | Fly London Southend Airport To Prague Handicap |
| 2016 - Gold Trail York - 4th of 19 (12/1) | John Smith's Cup |
| 2015 - Captain Morley Doncaster - 6th of 14 (4/1) | Unison Campaigning For Public Services Handicap |
Other Principal races during the Doncaster St Leger Festival
Here is the schedule for the four-day St Leger Festival for races, which we cover with blogs. Each race will be linked to the race blog and detail last year's winner in the table below.
Thursday at St Leger Festival
There are a couple of Group 2s which take centre-stage on the opening day of the St Leger Festival, the £120k May Hill Stakes, where the two-year-olds feature and then the £150k Park Hill Fillies Stakes, where the older fillies compete. We also have the £300k 2-y-o Stakes, a valuable class two race.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Carrie Red Fillies Nursery | Half Sovereign (FR) 2yo - 9/4 | K R Burke Clifford Lee |
| Doncaster 2yo Stakes | Calendar Girl (GB) 2yo - 7/2 | Owen Burrows Saffie Osborne |
| May Hill Stakes | Aylin (IRE) 2yo - 5/1 | K R Burke David Egan |
| Park Hill Stakes | Santorini Star (IRE) 4yo - 7/2 | William Haggas Tom Marquand |
| St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap | Munsif (IRE) 3yo - 5/2 | Roger Varian Ray Dawson |
Friday at St Leger Festival
On Friday, the feature race of the day is the Group 2 Doncaster Cup, which is part of the British Champion Series and carries a £150k purse. The Flying Childers Stakes is another race on Friday, which carries a decent purse, £130k on offer for the two-year-olds.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Mallard Handicap | Subsequent (IRE) 4yo - 12/1 | Andrew Balding Oisin Murphy |
| Flying Scotsman Stakes | Avicenna (IRE) 2yo - 11/2 | Roger Varian William Buick |
| Flying Childers Stakes | Revival Power (IRE) 2yo - 17/2 | Tim Easterby Oisin Murphy |
| Doncaster Cup | Sweet William (IRE) 6yo - 10/11 | John & Thady Gosden Robert Havlin |
Saturday at St Leger Festival
The feature race of the festival, the St Leger, takes place on Saturday, another race which is part of the British Champion Series, this Group 1 carries a purse of £700k. The three races before the St Leger all carry decent purses too, the Champagne Stakes (£150k), the Portland (£100k) and the Park Stakes (£140k).
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| St Leger Festival Mile Handicap | Treble Tee (IRE) 3yo - 11/5 | Simon & Ed Crisford Oisin Murphy |
| Champagne Stakes | Puerto Rico (IRE) 2yo - 15/2 | A P O'Brien Sean Levey |
| Portland Heritage Handicap | Eternal Sunshine (GB) 5yo - 12/1 | Jim Goldie Lauren Young |
| Park Stakes | Marvelman (IRE) 3yo - 13/2 | Andrew Balding Oisin Murphy |
| St Leger | Scandinavia (USA) 3yo - 2/1 | A P O'Brien Tom Marquand |
| St Leger Festival Ten Furlong Handicap | Fantasy Believer (IRE) 8yo - 9/1 | Ed Walker Oisin Murphy |
Sunday at St Leger Festival
Sunday is a bit more low-key, only one class one race, which is the £85k Sceptre Stakes for the fillies over 7f, and there are also a couple of decent handicaps carrying good purses of £70k and £65k.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| City of Doncaster Handicap | Rogue Diplomat (IRE) 3yo - 14/1 | James Owen Harry Davies |
| St Leger Festival Sprint Handicap | Desert Falcon (IRE) 5yo - 9/1 | Julie Camacho Rowan Scott |
| Sceptre Stakes | Fair Angellica (GB) 4yo - 11/1 | Richard Hughes Finley Marsh |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this St Leger Festival Middle Distance Handicap Preview are Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team, looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for Flat Racing.
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