It’s a big weekend of G1 racing in Europe and while Australian racing seems fixated on lessening the importance of staying races, the same can’t be said in Europe where a brand new G1 race for 2YOs over 1800m was decided and the time-honoured St Leger at Doncaster delivered a fairytale result that made headlines around the country.
The St Leger (1m6 ½ f) was being run for the 250th time and that’s hard to get your head around given we live in Australia, a country that has not been around as long as this race, which was first run in 1776, more than 10 years before the First Fleet pulled into Sydney Harbour.
The St Leger pre-dates the Epsom Derby which was first run in 1780 and in every year until this one,no woman jockey has ever ridden the winner of a British Classic… until now.
The Joseph O’Brien trained three year-old colt Highwayman produced a dour staying effort to win by a two and a half lengths with Saffie Osborne in the saddle for a history making ride.
Beaten out of sight in his first four starts this year, Highwayman has been a revelation since stepping out to a staying trip and this victory was his third in a row and second stakes win.
He also holds an entry for the Melbourne Cup.
“To win that was incredible. It's weird, this morning I woke up and had a good feeling about today. You're always quite hesitant to say that to anyone because most of the time you're wrong,” said Joseph O’Brien.
“It's special. It's a historic race and to have the first and second is very special. He was a slow learner initially but he won his maiden well by nine and then won the Listed race and put himself in the race, because we didn't have many other options.
“Saffie [Osborne] gave him a great ride and I'm delighted for both ownerships, John [Neocleous] and the Niarchos family who own the second, it's really special. I don't know if Saffie has had many rides for us but obviously today with jockeys all over the place we were delighted to be able to get her when we secured her earlier in the week.”
The story of the race was the winning rider Saffie Osborne, who declared it the best day of her life.
Highwayman is the first Group I winner for his sire Persian King, a Group I winning son of Kingman that stands at Haras d’Etreham at a fee of €15,000. He is the second winner from Salyana, a US bred mare by Harlan’s Holiday that comes from a French Aga Khan Stud female family that has produced plenty of Group I winners including champion sire Siyouni.
Run as a G1 for the first time at Leopardstown was the Golden Fleece Stakes (1m1f) for two year-olds and it produced a dominant winner for the Aidan O’Brien stable in Darkness Falls.
The Camelot colt was ridden by Ryan Moore and made it two wins from three starts when scoring by more than four lengths over Ghaiyyath colt Jesus Green.
The race has been a good one for the stable in recent years producing the likes of Auguste Rodin and Diego Velazquez (both at stud in Australasia this spring), plus this year's Irish Derby winner Benvenuto Cellini.
“He has a lot of class. It'd be hard for a classier Derby-type horse to come out, I'd say. The way Darkness Falls did it the last day, and the way he did it today,” said Aidan O’Brien.
“There was no hiding place out there, it was a proper gallop. He's a Camelot we thought was going to be a Guineas horse plus, and that's the way his Dad was.”
A homebred for the Coolmore partners, Darkness Falls is the second foal and second winner from stakes-placed No Nay Never mare You’resobeautiful, a daughter of Group I Irish 1000 Guineas winner Hula Angel.
Darkness Falls is the 15th Group I winner for Camelot and is the second for No Nay Never as a broodmare sire.
