Doncaster

It's the Leger Lowdown, our final run-through of Classic contenders for the season and one in which the late Galileo (Ire) has three chances to notch his 101st Group/Grade 1 winner so soon after Content (Ire) brought up his century in the Yorkshire Oaks. He is the sire of the first three favourites in the betting at the time of writing, and paternal grandsire of the next two.  It was the St Leger which provided Galileo with his first British Classic winner, Sixties Icon (GB), and we should have guessed...

Aidan O'Brien has whittled his G1 St Leger team down to three sons of Galileo (Ire) after the final confirmations were made for the Doncaster Classic on Thursday morning. Wayne Lordan will partner the G2 Queen's Vase winner and G1 Grand Prix de Paris runner-up Illinois (Ire), who will be joined as expected by the unbeaten G3 Gordon Stakes-winning TDN Rising Star Jan Brueghel (Ire) and the emphatic G3 Irish St Leger Trial Stakes winner Grosvenor Square (Ire). Jockeys for the latter pair have yet to be announced. Sean Levey...

Having made a habit of dismissing her peers by wide margins, Godolphin's TDN Rising Star Desert Flower (Ire) (Night Of Thunder {Ire}) has to do it on a higher plane as she encounters some similarly promising opposition in Doncaster's G2 Betfred May Hill Stakes on Thursday. Having beaten the re-opposing Flight (GB) (Siyouni {Fr}) convincingly on debut on Newmarket's July Course, she returned to defy a penalty in style last month and trainer Charlie Appleby has no concerns about the hike from seven furlongs. "We feel that the step up...

Irish Oaks winner You Got To Me (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}) has been supplemented by owners Valmont and Newsells Park Stud for Saturday's G1 Betfred St Leger at Doncaster at a cost of £50,000. Last seen filling the runner-up spot in the G1 Yorkshire Oaks, You Got To Me is one of 10 horses in contention for the final Classic of the season as she tries to emulate Simple Verse (Ire) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}), the last filly to win the race when successful in 2015. Like Simple Verse, You Got...

The Graham Lee Vickers.Bet Leger Legends Classified Stakes will be run in honour of Graham Lee during the final day of the St Leger meeting at Doncaster. A top-level winning jockey under both codes, Lee sustained life-changing injuries in a Newcastle fall last November. A JustGiving page was set up by Lee's daughter Amy, for the Injured Jockeys Fund (IJF) which has raised over £200,000. The race will see ex-jockeys riding to raise money for the IJF and the National Racing College. A charity golf event was also held on...

Arena Racing Company (ARC), the largest racing group in Britain, and 1/ST, who maintains a large portfolio of tracks in North America, will team to offer new opportunities for some of their feature races, the organizations announced in a joint release Tuesday. The winners of certain races at Doncaster will be offered free entry into some of the marquee events when Santa Anita Park in Arcadia, California, stages the inaugural California Crown on 28 September and select races on the Pegasus World Cup undercard at Gulfstream Park near Miami, Florida,...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-bred horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Saturday's Observations features a full-brother to multiple group winner Chindit (Ire) (Wootton Bassett {GB}). 16.05 Newbury, Mdn, £40,000, 2yo, 7fT FITZMAURICE (IRE) (Wootton Bassett {GB}) makes his debut at the track that hosted his multiple group-winning full-brother Chindit (Ire) on five occasions, with a win in the G3 Greenham...

The upcoming Horses-in-Training Sales series, to be held at Leopardstown, Ascot, Doncaster and Kildare, was announced by Goffs on Thursday. The boutique Goffs Champions Sale returns to Leopardstown as the opening event of the Irish Champions Festival on Saturday, Sept. 14. First held in 2014, the 10-year average is €188,000, with a median of €150,000 and a clearance rate of 69% for catalogues ranging between four and 12 lots. Horses have sold for €500,000, €470,000, €450,000 and €300,000 at previous renewals. The second boutique sale will be the Goffs QIPCO...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday's Observations features a seven-figure sales graduate. 14.40 Sandown, Mdn, £10,000, 2yo, 7fT Godolphin's RULING COURT (Justify) caused a stir when realising a whopping €2.3-million at this year's Arqana Breeze-Up sale and makes his eagerly awaited debut in a contest won in recent years by Arabian Crown (Fr) (Dubawi...

Unbeaten Regent's Stroll (Ire) (Walk In The Park {Ire}) set a new world record for a NH horse-in-training when the 5-year-old gelding dropped the hammer at £660,000 to Tom Malone and Paul Nicholls at the Goffs Summer Sale on Monday. Regent's Stroll (Ire) (lot 67) is set to remain in the care of Nicholls in Ditcheat after selling to the 14-time British champion trainer and bloodstock agent Malone after a spirited bidding war. Bred by Rita Kent, Regent's Stroll is one of five winners out of the unraced Pretty Puttens...

Aidan O'Brien dominates the entries for the G1 Betfred St Leger, which takes place at Doncaster on Saturday, September 14. Of the 25 entries, O'Brien is responsible for no fewer than 14 of them, headed by G1 Irish Derby hero Los Angeles (Ire) (Camelot {GB}) and the unbeaten Jan Brueghel (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}). They could be joined at Doncaster by two of the stable's Royal Ascot winners in G2 Queen's Vase scorer Illinois (Ire) (Galileo {Ire})--last seen filling the runner-up spot in the G1 Grand Prix de Paris--and Port Fairy...

Observations on the European Racing Scene turns the spotlight on the best European races of the day, highlighting well-pedigreed horses early in their careers, horses of note returning to action and young runners that achieved notable results in the sales ring. Thursday's Observations features a returning winner by American freshman sire Maximum Security. 13.40 Clairefontaine, Cond, €34,000, 2yo, 8fT ROSA SALVAJE (IRE) (Maximum Security) is one of very few by her sire running in Europe and got off to the ideal start when winning at Saint-Cloud last month. Ecurie Francky...