Previous winners of the St Leger Stakes

One of the oldest, most prestigious events on the flat racing calendar, the St Leger Stakes is steeped in history. Having been ran since the 1700’s, this one is a race to ring off on the calendar as the final of the five British Classics for the year. Much has changed since then with the excellent facilities at Doncaster making for a pristine, picturesque racecourse ready to bring in the best of the best in flat racing — with a mixed gender racing hosting both colts and fillies.

The Group one race was overshadowed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic but this year racegoers will be back in attendance, ready to pack out the stands and horse betting odds constantly changing as more talent is announced. In recent years, not every favourite has taken top spot in Yorkshire, with some unpredictable outcomes causing major upsets. Read on as we go through the last four winners of the St Leger Stakes in ascending order.

2017 – Capri

Coming in to the race as the 3/1 favourite, there was a lot of pressure mounting on Capri, Ryan Moore and Aidan O’Brien ahead of the 2017 St Legers Stakes. But a strong performance earnt Moore his first victory in Doncaster, seeing off close competition from Crystal Ocean, who nearly caused an upset to the surprise of Moore, who said: “When Crystal Ocean came to him, he dug in. He’s done very little wrong in his career and has progressed from race to race. It was a very good performance in a very good St Leger.” Another O’Brien-trained horse would go on to taste victory in the same competition in a few years’ time.

2018 – Kew Gardens

The O’Brien trained Kew Gardens sealed top spot in 2018 to add to prior wins in the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot, and the Grand Prix de Paris at Longchamp. The three-year-old cleared the mile and six-furlong course comfortably, but went on to run more short distance racers in the future, competing in the Ormonde Stakes at Chester but finding difficulty establishing proper weight.

2019 – Logician 

The last winner of the St Leger to celebrate with a crowd in attendance and the odds-on favourite for a clear reason, Logician stormed to victory in 2019 under the influence of Frankie Dettori. This was the jockey’s sixth winner beating out closest contender, Sir Dragonet by making a fast start. Dettori was overwhelmed with the finish, saying: “The favourite obliged and everybody’s happy, it’s been a great year, thankfully, for the great trainer I work for, John Gosden. He’s got plenty of ammunition and he provides me with plenty of good horses in big races.”

2020 – Galileo Chrome

Although Galileo Chrome, the most recent winner of the St Leger Stakes, may have received the top prize behind closed doors in front of an eerily empty Doncaster racetrack, trainer Joseph O’Brien will hardly be complaining. He won the race as a jockey in 2013 and carried on his good fortune with a victory in Yorkshire, pipping Berkshire Rocco by a neck.