The death knell may be sounding for the St Leger in some quarters, but from the betting angle there is plenty of life in the latest renewal of Flat racing's oldest Classic, to be run at York on Saturday. Even in a line-up which lacks star quality, the hot favourite Sixties Icon simply must be taken on.
Coming from a stable which has gone 19 days and 17 runners without a win, the Jeremy Noseda-trained colt is a strong candidate to drift in the betting but some bookmakers still quote Sixties Icon at a shade of odds-on. He looked good when beating Jadalee in the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood, but will Sixties Icon turn up in the same form on Saturday?
His supporters can take heart that two Gordon Stakes winners have gone on to land the Leger since 1998. On the other side of the coin, the stats show that six of the last eight Goodwood winners that have run in the final Classic failed.
For avid followers of trends, the one horse to avoid on Saturday is Ask, for the simple reason that he is trained by Sir Michael Stoute, who has yet to win the race despite launching a host of fancied contenders - the most famous being Shergar. But a frustrating run of five second placings puts Stoute's Leger record in a different light.
At 16-1, Ask is the each-way bet on Saturday. He pulled 6l clear of the remainder of the Melrose Handicap field when narrowly denied by Trick Or Treat over the Leger course and distance last month. If that filly can extend her winning run, or go close, against older rivals at Southwell today, so much the better. But the Melrose form already looks sound.
