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2026 Irish St Leger Preview
Established in 1915, the Irish St Leger is the Irish equivalent of the Doncaster St Leger. It's a Group 1 race which is open to thoroughbreds who are three or older, where three-year-old runners receive an 8lb age allowance.
It's run at the Curragh racecourse in September of each year during the Irish Champions Festival over a trip of one mile and six furlongs.
Irish St Leger Information:
If you are interested in other predictions at Curragh, then head over to the Curragh 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 Races Covered during the Irish Champions Festival section for links to these.
Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
How competitive is the Irish St Leger market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2016 when the race had an over-round of 107%. The race in 2017 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 128%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the Irish St Leger, the over-round has been 117%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £117 which is bet.
Below you will find the 2026 Irish St Leger 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 Irish St Leger Trend Analysis.
These are the top three quickest-run Irish St Leger races over the last 20 renewals:
- Brown Panther (2:57.15) in 2014
- Kyprios (2:59.04) in 2024
- Al Riffa (2:59.87) in 2025
Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the Irish St Leger next time out, then you would have backed a total of 4 winners. Backing all 17 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of -6.81. Before placing your bet on the 2026 Irish St Leger, see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.
When looking over the past 20 renewals, a time of 2:57.15 was set by Brown Panther in 2014, which is the quickest time over that period. The runner was trained by Tom Dascombe and ridden by Richard Kingscote. The slowest winning time was set in 2009 when Alandi won in a time of 3:14.82, booked to ride was Mick Kinane by trainer John M Oxx.
Irish St Leger Past Winners
Here are the Irish St Leger 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 Irish St Leger are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.
| Year | Horse (Drawn) | Info |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 2:59.87 | Al Riffa (FR) 5yo 9-10 (5 of 9) 3/1 | Dylan Browne McMonagle Joseph Patrick O'Brien (IRE) |
| 2024 2:59.04 | Kyprios (IRE) 6yo 9-11 (4 of 6) 2/5F | Ryan Moore A P O'Brien (IRE) |
| 2023 3:01.72 | Eldar Eldarov (GB) 4yo 9-11 (2 of 4) 16/5 | David Egan Roger Varian (GB) |
| 2022 3:04.67 | Kyprios (IRE) 4yo 9-11 (6 of 11) 8/11F | Ryan Moore A P O'Brien (IRE) |
| 2021 3:02.05 | Sonnyboyliston (IRE) 4yo 9-11 (12 of 13) 4/1 | Ben Coen J P Murtagh (IRE) |
| 2020 3:06.50 | Search For A Song (IRE) 4yo 9-8 (7 of 8) 7/1 | Oisin Orr D K Weld (IRE) |
| 2019 3:03.24 | Search For A Song (IRE) 3yo 8-11 (8 of 10) 10/1 | Chris Hayes D K Weld (IRE) |
| 2018 3:05.72 | Flag Of Honour (IRE) 3yo 9-1 (5 of 6) 2/1F | Ryan Moore A P O'Brien (IRE) |
| 2017 3:07.82 | Order Of St George (IRE) 5yo 9-10 (5 of 10) 2/5F | Ryan Moore A P O'Brien (IRE) |
| 2016 3:05.95 | Wicklow Brave (GB) 7yo 9-11 (2 of 4) 11/1 | Frankie Dettori W P Mullins (IRE) |
Where have the winning runners come from?
Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the Irish St Leger have been based:
- IRE: 16 winners with an additional 20 placings from 122 runners
- GB: 5 winners with an additional 12 placings from 45 runners
- GER: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 3 runners
2025 Irish St Leger Replay
Irish St Leger Trainer Statistics
The leading trainer in the Irish St Leger over the last 20 renewals is A P O'Brien, who has won the race seven times, with those seven winners coming from Yeats (2007), Septimus (2008), Order Of St George (2015 & 2017), Flag Of Honour (2018) and Kyprios (2022 & 2024). The only other trainer to have recorded multiple wins in the Irish St Leger is D K Weld (3 wins).
Here are some of the top Irish St Leger trainer statistics over the last 20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| A P O'Brien | 39-7-14 | -26.32 | -16.61 |
| D K Weld | 12-3-5 | +17.00 | +9.45 |
| Joseph Patrick O'Brien | 12-1-5 | -8.00 | -4.36 |
| W P Mullins | 6-1-3 | +6.00 | -1.00 |
| John Gosden | 4-1-1 | +2.00 | +0.13 |
| Tom Dascombe | 3-1-2 | +12.00 | +7.23 |
| J P Murtagh | 3-1-1 | +2.00 | +0.40 |
| Roger Varian | 2-1-2 | +2.20 | -0.20 |
| Luke Comer | 8-0-0 | -8.00 | -8.00 |
| Mrs John Harrington | 5-0-1 | -5.00 | -2.10 |
Irish St Leger Jockey Statistics
The leading jockey in the Irish St Leger over the last 20 renewals is Ryan Moore, who has won the race four times, with those four winners coming from Order Of St George (2017), Flag Of Honour (2018) and Kyprios (2022 & 2024). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the Irish St Leger is Chris Hayes (2 wins).
Here are some of the top Irish St Leger jockey statistics over the last 20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Moore | 9-4-5 | -1.47 | +0.03 |
| Chris Hayes | 7-2-4 | +14.00 | +11.50 |
| Seamie Heffernan | 12-1-3 | -10.67 | -8.55 |
| Richard Kingscote | 4-1-3 | +11.00 | +7.23 |
| N G McCullagh | 2-1-1 | +15.00 | +8.60 |
| Frankie Dettori | 2-1-1 | +10.00 | -1.00 |
| Oisin Orr | 2-1-1 | +6.00 | +3.20 |
| David Egan | 2-1-1 | +2.20 | -1.00 |
| Dylan Browne McMonagle | 2-1-2 | +2.00 | +1.90 |
| Ben Coen | 1-1-1 | +4.00 | +2.40 |
2026 Irish St Leger Trends
Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): 2, 1, 1, 3, 1, 4, 6, 2, 2, 1, 2, 1, 1, 4, 6, 6, 1, 2, 1, 7
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.
- 21 / 21 (62%) - No bigger than 16/1
- 21 / 21 (64%) - Achieved an RPR of 107+ (LTO)
- 21 / 21 (72%) - Beaten no more -6¼l (LTO)
- 21 / 21 (73%) - Within the first 6 of the market
- 21 / 21 (78%) - Off a break of 20 - 86 days
- 21 / 21 (81%) - Ran in 1 - 5 races (Season)
- 21 / 21 (81%) - No bigger than 20/1 (Career Place)
- 21 / 21 (82%) - No bigger than 50/1 (Career)
- 21 / 21 (82%) - Achieved a TS of 85+ (Career)
- 21 / 21 (85%) - Achieved an RPR of 99+ (Last Win)
- 21 / 21 (85%) - No bigger than 14/1 (Career Win)
- 21 / 21 (86%) - Ran over 1m4f - 2m4f (Last Win)
- 21 / 21 (86%) - Held an OR of 99+ (Season)
- 21 / 21 (87%) - Furthest Won 1m4f - 2m4f
- 21 / 21 (88%) - Dam is not AUS/FR/GER/JPN bred
Remember to use the trends listed above, along with the Curragh racing predictions, to see if you can find the winner of the Irish St Leger. 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.
Are you already a member? If not, then why not? With over £6,000 given away each month in the tipster competition, why not get involved? Remember, it is completely FREE! So, head over to the registration page to sign up today! If you are already a member, then share your thoughts on the Irish St Leger by adding a tip on the race here.
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Irish St Leger Trend Analysis
✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +20.16, is when runners had 2 places in the past 90 days.
❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when the runner's last place was 2 starts ago, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-29.
Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:
- 2025: Winner in 5 (3,2) [9 Runners]
- 2024: Winner in 4 (6) [6 Runners]
- 2023: Winner in 2 [4 Runners]
- 2022: Winner in 6 (8,10) [11 Runners]
- 2021: Winner in 12 (13,14) [13 Runners]
The course which has produced the most winners of the Irish St Leger is Curragh; there have been a total of 7 winners of this race who ran at Curragh last time out. The next best course, which has produced the second most winners, is York; there have been a total of 5 winners of this race who ran at York last time out.
The race is open to both sexes, with the Male runners having produced a total of 17 winners from a total of 146 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 4 winners from a total of 24 runners.
Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the Irish St Leger:
- Galileo (9 Wins)
- Sadlers Wells (2 Wins)
Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Royal Diamond in 2012, winning for Thomas Carmody at odds of 16/1 under the guidance of N G McCullagh. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 8 winning favourites in the race. Ahead of the 2026 Irish St Leger, why not head over to the best racing tipster page to see what the tipsters are backing today?
Route to the Irish St Leger
Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the Irish St Leger. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:
| Info | Last Race |
|---|---|
| 2025 - Al Riffa Curragh - 1st of 7 (4/5) | Michael John Kennedy Curragh Cup |
| 2024 - Kyprios Goodwood - 1st of 6 (8/13) | Goodwood Cup |
| 2023 - Eldar Eldarov Goodwood - 4th of 11 (10/1) | Goodwood Cup |
| 2022 - Kyprios Goodwood - 1st of 9 (6/4) | Goodwood Cup |
| 2021 - Sonnyboyliston York - 1st of 20 (10/1) | Ebor Handicap |
| 2020 - Search For A Song Curragh - 3rd of 6 (50/1) | Tattersalls Gold Cup |
| 2019 - Search For A Song York - 1st of 10 (3/1) | Galtres Stakes |
| 2018 - Flag Of Honour Curragh - 1st of 7 (9/4) | Comer Group International Irish St Leger Trial Stakes |
| 2017 - Order Of St George Curragh - 1st of 6 (1/2) | Comer Group International Irish St Leger Trial Stakes |
| 2016 - Wicklow Brave York - 3rd of 7 (6/1) | Lonsdale Cup |
Other Principal races during the Irish Champions Festival
Saturday at the Irish Champions Festival
Leopardstown hosts the opening day of the Irish Champions Festival, the highlight of the day being the Irish Champions Stakes, a race dominated by Aidan O'Brien in recent years, with him winning six of the last seven renewals and having won the race a total of thirteen times.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Champions Juvenile Stakes | Benvenuto Cellini (IRE) 2yo - 1/2 | A P O'Brien Christophe Soumillon |
| Solonaway Stakes | Alakazi (FR) 3yo - 7/2 | J P Murtagh Ben Coen |
| Matron Stakes | Fallen Angel (GB) 4yo - 9/4 | K R Burke James Doyle |
| Irish Champion Stakes | Delacroix (IRE) 3yo - 2/1 | A P O'Brien Christophe Soumillon |
| Petingo Handicap | Happy Pharoah (IRE) 3yo - 9/1 | Donnacha Aidan O'Brien Paddy Harnett |
| Sovereign Path Handicap | Rahmi (IRE) 6yo - 14/1 | J P Murtagh Rory Mulligan |
Sunday at the Irish Champions Festival
The Sunday of the Irish Champions Festival is hosted at the Curragh with four Group 1 races, the highlight being the Irish St Leger. Aidan has not been as dominant in this, with just seven wins, two behind both Vincent O'Brien and Dermot Weld.
| Race | Last Winner | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Bold Lad Sprint Handicap | Tango Flare (IRE) 6yo - 50/1 | Patrick T Foley Luke McAteer |
| Blandford Stakes | Barnavara (IRE) 3yo - 6/1 | Mrs John Harrington Shane Foley |
| Moyglare Stud Stakes | Precise (IRE) 2yo - 11/2 | A P O'Brien Ronan Whelan |
| Flying Five Stakes | Arizona Blaze (GB) 3yo - 11/2 | Adrian Murray David Egan |
| National Stakes | Zavateri (IRE) 2yo - 15/2 | Eve Johnson Houghton Charles Bishop |
| Irish St Leger | Al Riffa (FR) 5yo - 3/1 | Joseph Patrick O'Brien Dylan Browne McMonagle |
| Northfields Handicap | Shaool (IRE) 4yo - 11/2 | J P Murtagh Ben Coen |
Article Contributor Information
We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this Irish St Leger 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.
James Banting
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Andy Powell
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