The Group 1, £550,000 St Leger is a little more than three weeks away,
and Thought Worthy laid down his credentials for the final British classic of the
season, run over an extended 1 3/4 miles at Doncaster on
September 15, with a gutsy front-running success in the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes at York.
The John Gosden-trained colt will be bidding to follow in the footsteps of
his brother Lucarno, who did the double for the same connections in 2007, while
Gosden himself will be seeking a third consecutive success after the victories
of Masked Marvel last year and Arctic Cosmos in 2010.
The Newmarket handler’s five entries also include Shantaram, who scored
decisively by 3 1/4 lengths on his latest start at Newmarket in
the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket on July 12.
Unfortunately, the son of Galileo was forced to miss Wednesday’s Great Voltigeur
Stakes due to mucus in his lungs, but is still a possible runner in the St
Leger.
Hugo Lascelles, racing manager to Shantaram’s owner Lady Bamford, commented
on the prospect.
“The St Leger is still on Shantaram’s agenda,” Lascelles said. “He had mucus on his lungs, but
it is clearing up now, and we will follow him through to the declarations and see
how we go.
“If he runs, he will go straight to Doncaster without a prep race like Masked
Marvel did last year. It’s probably not ideal, but it will be discussed nearer
the time as John (Gosden) obviously has a few others in there. If the trainer
gives us the thumbs up, we will be keen to run.
“I thought he won very well at Newmarket, but it wasn’t a very strong race. He
did it well enough, but he is a big, big horse and he will be even better next
year. We have always been minding him for next year and that will be very much
in the back of our minds.
“The trip will be fine for him in the St Leger — there is no doubt
about that — but it will be very tough to bustle up Camelot. However, we have to
make the race as competitive as possible for him and better ground will suit Shantaram, but we have to get there first.”
Shantaram is a 10-1 chance with race sponsor Ladbrokes, while Thought Worthy
is rated a 14-1 shot after his victory in the Great Voltigeur.
Camelot heads the market at 1-3 after a hat-trick of Group 1 triumphs this
season in the Two Thousand Guineas, Derby and Irish
Derby. Aidan O’Brien’s colt is bidding to become the first winner of the Triple
Crown since Nijinsky in 1970.
More St Leger clues could be revealed this weekend when the Curragh
stages the Group 3 Irish St Leger Trial over 1 3/4 miles on
Saturday. All eyes will be on John Oxx’s Hartani, who is 16-1 with Ladbrokes for
Classic glory after bolting up in the Group 3 Curragh Cup on
July 1.
The next scratchings deadline for the St Leger is on Tuesday.
For more information on the St Leger Festival, visit the
Doncaster
website.
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