Betfred St Leger (Group 1)

THE St Leger Stakes, oldest of the five classics, witnessed a thrilling finish this year at Doncaster on Saturday, with Jan Brueghel (Sean Levey), providing Aidan O’Brien with an eighth Leger success, and also heading up a one-two for the stable, as he got the better of a lengthy tussle with stablemate Illinois (Wayne Lordan) to win by a hard-fought neck.

The pair were sent off joint-favourites at 11/4 and, as well as their odds, they are both sons of the great Galileo from his final full crop, and this may well be the last representatives of the great sire in a British classic, for all there are a smattering of juveniles among the sire’s final truncated crop.

The pace was set, as largely expected, by O’Brien’s third runner Grosvenor Square, but the pace was not strong, and all the runners held a chance when the field entered the home straight.

From that point, the principals began to dominate, with the front two pulling a length and a half clear at the line. The finish was not without its drama, however, as a stewards’ inquiry into the minor placings added an extra layer of intrigue, and saw Sunway promoted to third ahead of Deira Mile.

This was an apposite win for Levey, now attached to the Richard Hannon stable, but formerly an apprentice at Ballydoyle, and he was seen to excellent effect on the winner, who remains unbeaten after four career starts, having made his racecourse debut as recently as late May.

Touching in the winner’s inexperience, Sean Levey said: “He’s only a young thing. He ran in snatches a little bit down the back, but I got what I needed from him. I always knew I would head him [Illinois] when I needed to.”

“It’s a special race for the family,” said part-owner Derrick Smith, who also shares ownership of the runner-up. “I’ve won it four times in my own colours previously and Kingston Hill won for my son Paul.

“I love this race and it’s a great result for us. It was always going to be nip and tuck and it was a great race.”

KINROSS (Ralph Beckett/Rossa Ryan) bounced back to winning ways with a decisive victory in the Group 2 Betfred Park Stakes.

Winless in 2024 prior to this, the seven-year-old was underwhelming in the Lennox Stakes at Goodwood, but left that effort behind to register a second win in this event. Kinross travelled well from the off and, cruising to the front with over two furlongs to run, he simply had too much speed for favourite Lead Artist (John and Thady Gosden/Kieran Shoemark), dropping to seven furlongs for the first time, and he had a comfortable two lengths to spare at the line.

This was a victory for patience as well as class, with Beckett and owner Marc Chan electing to miss the more valuable City of York Stakes on ground which was quicker that Kinross prefers.

“I was really enthused with the way he galloped in the week, and it seemed as everything was coming back our way,” said Beckett. “It’s like a jigsaw, you have to get all the pieces into place, and track and ground were a big part of that today.

“What a horse he’s been, to train and own, I’m very proud of him and proud to get him back. It hasn’t been easy with a small issue at the end of last year and we just had to tread carefully.

“I’d have loved to run him at York, as he loves running there, but it was drying and we needed to get him back on track with everything on his side and today it was. He’s a very, very good horse and to still be doing it at seven is unusual in the extreme. If the ground is right, he’ll go to Ascot and the Foret and maybe the Breeders’ Cup as well. He’ll dance every dance now.”

Betfred Champagne Stakes (Group 2)

BAY City Roller (George Scott/Callum Shepherd) won a dramatic renewal of the Group 2 Champagne Stakes, in which race favourite Chancellor had to be withdrawn after breaking through the stalls and sustaining a minor injury to his mouth.

In his absence, there was a significant Rule 4 of 35p with no market reformed, and the winner’s SP of 9/2 was in reality no better than 3/1.

Bay City Roller tracked the pace set by Righthere Rightnow and, although Aftermath led briefly around two furlongs out, the winner was quickly on terms before going on to win by half a length from Monumental (Aidan O’Brien/Gavin Ryan), with Aftermath a one-paced third.

The winning trainer said: “His main attributes are his mind and he’s a well-bred horse. I’ve been a bit obsessed with this horse - I stuck my neck out and asked Sheikh Nasser to buy him and he did that on my recommendation.

“The horse has an amazing physique and mind, he’s by New Bay out of a listed winner and the half-brother is rated 110, so he ticks every box.

“I think the track at Longchamp might just suit him, so it’s in my mind to go for the Lagardere [Grand Criterium].

“He’s a neat horse and won’t get inconvenienced by that turn and it’s definitely a race we’ll consider supplementing for. He could end up coming back here for the Futurity. I’ve no doubt he’ll get another furlong, and I think he’ll have two more runs this year.”

Generation just Great

Great Generation (Marco Botti/Marco Ghiani) gained a second Group 3 victory of the season by taking the Sceptre Stakes at Doncaster on Sunday at odds of 8/1.

Winner of the Chartwell Fillies’ Stakes at Lingfield in May, the daughter of Holy Roman Emperor trailed home in the Prix Maurice de Gheest at Deauville on her previous start, but benefited from having her sights lowered as she beat favourite Elim (Ed Bethell/Callum Rodriguez) by a length.

Botti said: “Her run was too bad to be true in France and it didn’t really pan out, but we know she’s a nice filly and I think the ground at Doncaster was just okay – I think if it was any softer than it was, we would have been in trouble.

“Carrying the penalty, she did it nicely. A stiff six or seven furlongs seems to be her best trip and hopefully there’s a little bit more to come. She needs decent ground, so we think maybe the only option before the end of the season would be the Group 2 Challenge Stakes at Newmarket.”

Around The Tracks

THERE was listed action at Chester on Saturday, which saw 4/5 favourite Al Qareem (Karl Burke/Pierre-Louis Jamin) win the Stand Cup for the second year in succession, with the five-year-old relishing the return to soft ground to post an easy two and three-quarter-length win over the John Nallen-trained Crystal Clere.

As the season nears a climax, it would appear that Clonmel-born Sean Dylan Bowen is on course to be crowned champion apprentice, and the young rider’s treble at Brighton on Tuesday put him five winners clear of nearest rival Joe Leavy, son of former Midlands trainer Barry Leavy.

There is time for Leavy to claw back that deficit, but with limited evening meetings in the autumn, and the season finishing at Ascot in less than a month, it seems that Bowen has the upper hand.

Annie Edson Taylor (Kevin Coleman/Rob Hornby) was an Irish-trained winner of the five-furlong restricted maiden at Bath on Sunday, while Intense Approach provided trainer John McConnell and jockey Alex Harvey with another winner on British soil, when landing a maiden hurdle at Kelso on Wednesday.