Betfred St Leger: Continuous powers clear to Doncaster Classic success for Aidan O’Brien and Ryan Moore
Continuous gave Ryan Moore a third win in the race and a seventh success for trainer Aidan O’Brien; Arrest finished second on Frankie Dettori’s final Classic ride; The King and The Queen were in attendance as Royal runner Desert Hero finished third
Continuous powered clear to give Ryan Moore a third St Leger success and Aidan O’Brien a seventh victory in the Doncaster Classic on Saturday.
It was another star performance from the powerhouse Ballydoyle team, with Continuous quickening up smartly to finish just under three lengths clear of Arrest and Frankie Dettori in his final Classic ride.
Desert Hero ran another excellent race in third for King Charles III and The Queen, who were in attendance at Doncaster to watch their William Haggas-trained three-year-old colt.
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Continuous was sent off 3/1 and whilst he didn’t hit the front till two furlongs from home, Moore always looked to have matters in control despite a late challenge from Dettori as well as stablemate Tower Of London.
The success was the first victory for the O’Brien-Moore combo since Kew Gardens won the race in 2018, and is 22 years after O’Brien’s first Leger win with Milan.
The winning trainer told Sky Sports Racing: “Ryan gave him a beautiful ride and I’m delighted for all the lads, everyone has worked so hard to get him here.
“He got the extra trip very well. He’s got a lot of possibilities now. The Arc is there in two weeks but we’ll see.”
Winning his third Leger, Moore said: “Over these trips you want the horse to be taking you and I knew a long way out he was going well. He showed at York he had a turn of foot and because we went steady I was always happy.
“He’s out of a Galileo mare so I was always confident he’d stay and his sire, Heart’s Cry, was the only horse who could beat Deep Impact in Japan so there was stamina there.
“He showed a really good turn of foot to put the race to bed and then just had a look around in the final furlong.”
Dettori couldn’t quite land another big prize in his final Classic, telling Sky Sports Racing: “The race went exactly how I thought. I had a good spot and we didn’t go overly fast so I got him in a good rhythm.
“I got a bit excited when I went past Gregory but on my second glance I saw Ryan going twice as fast so I thought: ‘Let’s make sure we get second place’.
“I got an amazing reception – I thought I was Ronaldo walking into the paddock. The King and Queen being here is fantastic. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Doncaster this packed!
“This race has been very kind to me and today lived up to the billing once more.”
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