Nine horses have stood their ground for the Betfred St Leger, which takes place at Doncaster on Saturday.
While much attention will focus on the presence of a royal runner, Desert Hero (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}), who bids to give King Charles III his first Classic success 46 years after Dunfermline (GB) won the St Leger for his late mother, there is also the matter of Frankie Dettori's last ride in a British Classic.
The Italian, who is set to retire from race-riding at the end of the year, will renew his partnership with race-favourite Gregory (GB) (Golden Horn {GB}), on whom he won the G2 Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot. Owned by Wathnan Racing, the colt is one of three potential runners for John and Thady Gosden, along with Qatar Racing's Middle Earth (GB) (Roaring Lion) and Juddmonte's contender Arrest (GB) (Frankel {GB}).
Aidan O'Brien has four remaining entries, led by the G2 Great Voltigeur winner Continuous (Jpn) (Heart's Cry {Jpn}), who could be joined by Tower Of London (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}), Alexandropoulis (Ire) and Denmark (Ire). The last two named are sons of Camelot (GB), who narrowly failed in his Triple Crown bid in 2012 when beaten in the St Leger by Godolphin's Encke (GB).
This time around Godolphin has just one potential runner, Chesspiece (GB) (Nathaniel {Ire}), who is trained by Simon and Ed Crisford and was runner-up to Desert Hero in the G3 Gordon S. at Goodwood.
The King and Queen's runner completed a gallop in Newmarket on Tuesday, with trainer William Haggas reporting that Desert Hero worked well.
“He was impressive at Goodwood with cut in the ground and he won on top of the ground at Royal Ascot, so I don't think that bothers him too much,” Haggas told Sky Sports Racing.
“Obviously the softer it is the more accent it puts on stamina and he may not be a strong stayer at a mile and six and a half [furlongs], but we'll see. I think he will.”
He added of Desert Hero's royal connections, “Everyone who is involved in horse racing in any shape or form would like to win a Classic, whether they breed it, own it, train it, ride it or look after it. The Classic is everyone's dream, so they're no different to everyone else.”
Haggas continued, “There doesn't look to be too many that shouldn't be there. John has got the strongest hand with Gregory, Middle Earth and Arrest, and Aidan's horse [Continuous] was very impressive in the Voltigeur.
“I suppose Gregory and Continuous are the two, but they're the front two in the market. Chesspiece is very solid and we're pretty solid too, so I think it's a good renewal and it will be a good, fun race.”
Oisin Murphy will ride the Melrose H. winner Middle Earth and was also aboard his late sire Roaring Lion for all four of his Group 1 wins. Speaking on Sky Sports Racing, Murphy said, “He has to step up on his Melrose victory, but the form has been franked.
“Sheikh Fahad has won the race before with Simple Verse, so hopefully he'll be bang there. It doesn't look like it's going to be a very big field, but there's some good horses in there.
“Time will tell, but I think he's a horse with the right profile and I'd be very excited about his future in general anyway.”
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