NO decision has yet been made on whether Johnny Murtagh will ride in England or Ireland for this Saturday’s St Legers.
Aidan O’Brien has four entries in both the Ladbrokes St Leger at Doncaster and the Irish Field St Leger at the Curragh on Saturday.
Age of Aquarius and Changingoftheguard head the expected raid on Town Moor, and although both are also among the 14 declared at the Curragh, legendary stayer Yeats is expected to bid for a second win in the Irish Classic.
With Age Of Aquarius currently the 11-4 second favourite with most firms for the final Classic of the British season, Murtagh would seem most likely to head to Yorkshire.
But Ballydoyle trainer Aidan O’Brien said: “Johnny has not decided yet whether he’ll be riding at Doncaster or the Curragh.
“The National Stakes is on at the Curragh the same afternoon and the DFS Champagne Stakes, in which we could run Viscount Nelson, is also at Doncaster, so we will just have to see.”
O’Brien’s other entries among the 10 declared for the Ladbrokes St Leger are Von Jawlensky and Rockhampton.
Lingfield Derby Trial winner Age Of Aquarius was second in the Grand Prix de Paris last time and Changingoftheguard finished in a similar position in the Ebor.
O’Brien added: “Age Of Aquarius is in good form and he handles fast ground well.
“He has a high cruising speed and should get a mile and a half plus well.
“We have been looking forward to this race since Longchamp, and have always thought he is a horse who would suit the Leger.
“Changingoftheguard has been in really good form since running in the Ebor. He was a horse who we liked early on in the year, but he had a few disappointing runs.
“He ended up rated lower than we thought he would be and went on to win a handicap at Down Royal nicely.
“He then ran a stormer in the Ebor when he reared in the stalls and ended up further back than Johnny (Murtagh) would have wanted. He didn’t have a terribly hard race and just got beaten. If the ground is nice then I hope he can run a really nice race.”
The main danger to the Ballydoyle battalions appears to come from racing’s other big stable, Godolphin, with their Kite Wood currently the 5-2 favourite with most firms.
Sheikh Mohammed’s operation have not won a British Classic for five years since Rule Of Law’s victory in the Leger.
Trainer Saeed bin Suroor has landed the world’s oldest Classic four times and although Kite Wood, who will be partnered by Frankie Dettori, looks to have a big chance of providing a fifth success, Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford was playing down the Galileo colt’s chances. He said: “Kite Wood is obviously very progressive and has improved with every race.
“He is mentally getting his act together and is physically at the peak of his powers.
“He will be better next year but is developing into a really strong, powerful galloper – we haven’t seen any gears yet but hopefully we might see some on Saturday.
“The ground is working against him and I do not think he will be favourite on Saturday as he is much better with cut in the ground. He deserves to be favourite, but I would not be backing him at the prices.”
Godolphin also have Mastery, who was third in the Grand Prix de Paris, entered and Crisford added: “He is a tough, solid contender and is a backable each-way price. It was a sub-standard Grand Prix de Paris he ran in and he needs to be better than that to win a St Leger.”
As expected Peter Chapple-Hyam supplemented Monitor Closely into the field of 10.
Monitor Closely landed the Great Voltigeur at York last time and that contest has been traditionally a good guide to the Leger with in recent years Milan, Rule Of Law and Lucarno winning both races. Monitor Closely was supplemented for £45,000 and Chapple-Hyam said: “We were delighted by his win in the Voltigeur and feel it is worth a shot at the Leger.
“His work since York has been good and we are just hoping the ground remains on the quick side at Doncaster.”
TODAY’S NAP: Field Of Dream (3.45pm Goodwood).
