St Leger Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (St Leger Festival)

2024 St Leger Preview

Britain's oldest 'classic', the St Leger, was first run in 1776 and is recognised as the last leg of the 'Triple Crown' comprising the 2000 Guineas and Epsom Derby. Camelot in 2012 nearly became the first horse since Nijinsky in 1970 to complete the set having won the 2000 Guineas and Derby but had to settle with the runners-up finish here behind Encke.

Although Camelot nearly accomplished the Triple Crown in 2012, generally now it is very seldom a target for the season's early classic winners. From a breeder's point of view, St Leger winners going on to stallion duties may not have too much influence when it comes to breeding 'speed' and tend to become more prominent sires on the National Hunt scene. Recent examples would be Aidan O'Brien's Milan in 2001 and Brian Boru in 2003, both have sired numerous National Hunt winners.

The St Leger not only is the oldest classic but also is the longest in distance, running over one mile and six and a half furlongs and is open to three-year-old colts and fillies. It has been won by some true legends of the turf down the years, Never Say Die completed the Epsom Derby and St Leger double in 1954 and in the process recorded the still-standing longest-winning St Leger margin of 12 lengths.

St Paddy in 1960 was the first of Lester Piggott's eight St Leger victories which also included the last triple-crown winner Nijinsky in 1970. Lester recorded his final St Leger victory on Commanche Run for Luca Cumani, 24 years after his first success.

Other equine greats to grace the St Leger winners enclosure include Bustino (1974), Her Majesty's Dunfermline under Willie Carson in 1977, the brilliant filly Oh So Sharp for Steve Cauthen and Sir Henry Cecil in 1984, Henry's Reference Point, the last Epsom Derby winner to complete the double in 1987 and another top female User Friendly in 1992.

St Leger Information:

• St Leger Past Winners
• St Leger Trainer Statistics
• St Leger 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.

How competitive is the St Leger market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2022 when the race had an over-round of 112%. The race in 2012 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 127%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the St Leger, the over-round has been 117%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £117 which is bet.

St Leger Trends:

• 2024 St Leger Trends
• St Leger Trend Analysis

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? From the past 20 if you had followed the winner of the St Leger next time out then you would have backed a total of 3 winners. Backing all 17 runners who have been out since to win at SP next time out, would have returned an LSP of -5.42. Before placing your bet on the 2024 St Leger see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.

The runner that holds the record over the past 20 renewals for the slowest time in the race was set in the 2005 renewal when Scorpion from A P O'Brien under the guidance of Frankie Dettori, won in a time of 3:19.01, whilst at the other end of the spectrum, Sixties Icon, trained by Jeremy Noseda and ridden by Frankie Dettori set the quickest time of 2:57.29 in the 2006 renewal.

These are the top three quickest-run St Leger over the last 20 renewals:

• 2006 - Sixties Icon (2:57.29)
• 2019 - Logician (3:00.27)
• 2011 - Masked Marvel (3:00.44)

St Leger Past Winners

Here are the 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 trainer of the horse at the time of winning the St Leger as well as the jockey is also displayed along with the starting price the horse was sent off.

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the St Leger have been based:

• GB: 14 winners with an additional 27 placings from 127 runners
• IRE: 6 winners with an additional 11 placings from 66 runners
• CZE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner
• FR: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner

St Leger Trainer Statistics

The leading trainer in the St Leger over the last 20 renewals is A P O'Brien who has won the race five times with those five winners coming from Scorpion (2005), Leading Light (2013), Capri (2017), Kew Gardens (2018) and Continuous (2023). Other trainers who have recorded multiple wins in the St Leger are John Gosden (4 wins), Saeed bin Suroor (2 wins) and Roger Varian (2 wins).

Here are some of the top 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):

St Leger Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the St Leger over the last 20 renewals is Frankie Dettori who has won the race four times with those four winners coming from Scorpion (2005), Sixties Icon (2006), Conduit (2008) and Logician (2019). Other jockeys who have recorded multiple wins in the St Leger are Ryan Moore (3 wins), William Buick (3 wins) and Andrea Atzeni (2 wins).

Here are some of the top 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):

2024 St Leger Trends

Favourites finishing positions (oldest to latest): (1, 2), 1, 1, 3, 7, 2, 6, 3, 2, 1, 1, (2, 4), UR, 1, 2, 1, 4, 1, 2, 2

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.

• 20 / 20 (73%) - Had 2 - 5 wins (Career)
• 20 / 20 (74%) - Had 3 - 6 placings (1 Year)
• 20 / 20 (76%) - Beaten no more -5¼l (LTO)
• 20 / 20 (77%) - No bigger than 25/1
• 20 / 20 (79%) - Highest Won is not Cl2/Cl5-6
• 20 / 20 (79%) - Achieved an RPR of 103+ (LTO)
• 20 / 20 (80%) - Achieved an RPR of 93+ (Last Win)
• 20 / 20 (82%) - Placed within last 2 starts
• 20 / 20 (83%) - Within the first 8 of the market
• 20 / 20 (83%) - Break of 14 - 98 days (Last Place)
• 20 / 20 (83%) - No bigger than 12/1 (LTO)
• 20 / 20 (85%) - Highest Placed is not Cl2-5
• 20 / 20 (86%) - Made 4 - 8 starts (1 Year)
• 20 / 20 (88%) - Achieved a TS of 54+ (LTO)
• 20 / 20 (89%) - Not in a Cl2-5 (LTO)

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. How well do you know your horse racing? Are there certain types of races that you are unsure of? Why not take a look at this Types Of Horse Race article to familiarise yourself with the different types of racing, that is just one of many helpful horse racing articles in the OLBG Betting School.

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 St Leger by adding a tip on the race here.

St Leger Trend Analysis

The trend factor which had produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +18.77 is when runners had 0 starts in the past 30 days. The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners had 1 career win in Flat (Turf) races, when backing these the trend shows a record of 0-50.

Here are the most recent winning draws along with the further placings in brackets:

• 2023: Winner in 2 (6,1) [9 Runners]
• 2022: Winner in 5 (4,2) [9 Runners]
• 2021: Winner in 4 (3,1) [10 Runners]
• 2020: Winner in 12 (8,4) [11 Runners]
• 2019: Winner in 4 (6,3) [8 Runners]

The course which has produced the most winners of the St Leger is York, there has been a total number of 7 winners of this race who ran at York last time out. The next best course which has produced the second most winners is Goodwood, there has been a total number of 4 winners of this race who ran at Goodwood last time out.

The race is open to both sexes with the Male runners having produced a total of 19 winners from a total of 180 runners whilst the Female runners have produced 1 winner from a total of 15 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the St Leger:

• Galileo (3 Wins)
• Montjeu (3 Wins)
• Frankel (2 Wins)
• Kingmambo (2 Wins)

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the St Leger despite multiple attempts:

• Sadlers Wells (0 Wins from 10 runners)
• Sea The Stars (0 Wins from 7 runners)
• Camelot (0 Wins from 6 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Encke in 2012, winning for Mahmood Al Zarooni at odds of 25/1 under the guidance of Mickael Barzalona. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals there has been a total of 8 winning favourites in the race. Remember to use the best racing tipsters along with the information on this page to find you a bet on the 2024 St Leger.

Other Principal races during the Doncaster St Leger Festival

Doncaster St Leger Festival races for Thursday 12th September 2024

• 13:50: Carrie Red Fillies Nursery
• 14:25: Doncaster 2yo Stakes
• 15:00: May Hill Stakes
• 15:35: Park Hill Stakes
• 16:45: Winners Wear Skopes Menswear Handicap

Doncaster St Leger Festival races for Friday 13th September 2024

• 13:50: Flying Scotsman Stakes
• 14:25: Flying Childers Stakes
• 15:00: Doncaster Cup
• 15:35: Mallard Handicap
• 16:45: Doncaster Groundworks Reinforcements Handicap

Doncaster St Leger Festival races for Saturday 14th September 2024

• 13:50: Champagne Stakes
• 14:25: Portland Heritage Handicap
• 15:00: Park Stakes
• 15:35: St Leger
• 16:10: PJ Towey Construction Handicap
• 17:20: Hippo Pro 3 Sealant Handicap

Doncaster St Leger Festival races for Sunday 15th September 2024

• 14:25: City of Doncaster Handicap
• 15:35: Sceptre Stakes
• 16:10: Scarbrough Stakes