St Leger Runners & Odds 2023: The leading players for the Doncaster Classic

We take a look at the St Leger Runners & Odds for the final Classic of the season, which is run at Doncaster on Saturday 16th September, 2023 and looks to be a hugely competitive renewal of the staying showpiece on Town Moor...

John & Thady Gosden's Gregory launched into the limelight with an impressive victory in the Listed Cocked Hat Stakes at Goodwood and the hugely progressive three-year-old then went and bounded to victory in the Queen's Vase at Royal Ascot, as he landed that staying prize for favourite backers. An eye-catching win in that event saw him propel to the head of the betting for the St Leger, which takes place at Doncaster in mid-September and the unbeaten son of Frankel looks a real class act and has to be one of the leading players in a wide open St Leger market.

Derby hero Auguste Rodin has been one of the stars of the season, but he may not fly the flag for Ballydoyle as Aidan O'Brien could saddle the likes of Tower Of London, who was last seen winning a Down Royal handicap impressively, while Adelaide River could be another shot fired by the O'Brien gun and that colt was last seen chasing home Auguste Rodin in the Irish Derby. Runner-up in the Oaks behind Soul Sister, Savethelastdance is another well fancied runner from the strong Aidan O'Brien team and she could add more depth to a strong travelling Irish challenge.

A fine runner-up in the Derby, King Of Steel showed his class by storming to victory in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot and the top notch colt could be another that is targeted at the St Leger as he has certainly shown stamina is one of his strongest attributes and if he takes his chance then he could well be a leading contender.

Third in the Derby at Epsom earlier in the season, White BIrch failed to land any sort of blow on Auguste Rodin in the Irish equivalent, but could be one that steps up in trip for the St Leger, which is one of the end of season highlights and can be an ultra-competitive betting heat for punters to get stuck into.

Second in the Queen's Vase behind Gregory, Andrew Balding's Saint George could be another that takes his chance in the St Leger and he looks to have the potential to play a notable role as he has already won at Doncaster this season and adds intrigue to the event.

Other names that feature in the latest ante-post betting, at the time of writing, include Espionage, who is another O'Brien-trained runner, Flying Honours and Military Order, who are both decent performers on their day. It's a race that will take shape over the coming weeks, but there should be an array of classy three-year-old stayers lining up and they could well be looking to use the race as a springboard to Cup races next season.