Saturday's G1 Ladbrokes St Leger lacks its customary strength and with a seemingly rock-solid proposition in Idaho (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) there are few outcomes to consider other than a fifth renewal for Aidan O'Brien. Seamie Heffernan gets a rare chance of riding an odds-on favourite for a British Classic, but the longtime Ballydoyle soldier knows his mount well having partnered him on three of his last four starts. Steering the TDN Rising Star into third in Leopardstown's G3 Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial over 10 furlongs May 8 and also in the June 4 G1 Epsom Derby, he enjoyed a smooth success on the G1 Irish Derby runner-up when re-united in the G2 Great Voltigeur S. at York last time Aug. 17 and believes there is better to come. “Idaho is a more mature horse now and time has helped him,” he told the Racing Post. “He has run very well in two Classics already and we do not think the trip will be a problem. Hopefully, he will be good and strong at the death on Saturday and I think he's improved.”
Second to Idaho at York was his stablemate Housesofparliament (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), another that Heffernan has a handle on having ridden him four times. Just 1 3/4 lengths behind the favourite over a mile and a half, he had previously shown that he is comfortable beyond that trip when winning Newmarket's G3 Bahrain Trophy over 13 furlongs July 7. Sword Fighter (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) has even more stamina in his locker, having beaten Harbour Law (GB) (Lawman {Fr}) over two miles in the Listed Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot June 17 and followed up in the June 26 Curragh Cup over 14 furlongs. Only fifth taking on the older stayers in the G2 Goodwood Cup last time July 28, there is a chance he could provide Donnacha O'Brien with a Classic victory if the rain turns this into a dour test.
Aidan O'Brien said of the trio, “I think Idaho is in the same category as my four previous winners. He has a very high level of form over 10 and 12 furlongs and is an uncomplicated horse. He seems to relax, he is a full-brother to Highland Reel and he gets a mile and a half well. Sword Fighter stays well. It was a big step up for him at Goodwood, but he would have learnt a lot from that. Housesofparliament is a very straightforward horse. He ran very well in the Voltigeur and won a nice race at Newmarket and he stays very well.”
Also successful four times in this, John Gosden puts forward an intriguing contender in Sheikh Hamdan Rashid Al Maktoum's Muntahaa (Ire) (Dansili {GB}) who has enjoyed an unorthodox preparation avoiding the Voltigeur in favour of the Listed Chester S. over an extended 13-furlong trip Aug. 20. He beat some useful older handicappers there and remains unexposed, having previously finished one place ahead of Housesofparliament when third in Royal Ascot's G2 King Edward VII S. over 12 furlongs June 17.
“He is babyish and he was caught out by greenness in the King Edward,” Gosden explained. “At Chester, they are turning all the way and, funnily enough, you have to stay round there. He learnt a lot that day–it was Ladies Day and there was plenty of noise, but he handled it fine. He is a grand horse, but the race is coming quite soon enough. He has only breezed once since Chester. He will get the trip–I just don't know if he will get the trip quick enough.”
Richard Hannon may have something to say with Middleham Park Racing's Ventura Storm (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}), who is unbeaten since he stepped up in trip this summer. After winning the Listed Glasgow S. over 11 furlongs on soft ground at Hamilton July 15, he registered an impressive 3 1/2-length defeat of the subsequanet G3 Prix de Lutece winner Moonshiner (Ger) (Adlerflug {Ger}) tackling an extra 1 1/2 furlongs at Deauville Aug. 7.
“Last time out in Deauville he dominated the field and we had not seen a performance quite like that from him. He really put his opponents to the sword,” Middleham Park's Tom Palin said. “You could maybe crib Ventura Storm's form a little bit–he was hit-and-miss in the middle part of the season–but, at the moment, he is a horse who is in fine fettle.”
A Classic win for Laura Mongan would be a fairytale and while Harbour Law has improvement to find, she is confident he will hold his own. After his second to Sword Fighter in the Queen's Vase, he was fourth in the Bahrain Trophy but has enjoyed a subsequent break.
“We know we are taking on some of classy horses, but we've got one ourselves and if he was in a more fashionable yard people might pay more attention to him,” Mongan said. “I don't like to say we are the underdogs, but he's only the price he is because he's trained by us. We are not going there for a day out, or to make up the numbers. We are going there with a horse who is entitled to be there and he could not be in better shape. He's spot-on.”
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