Ryan Moore finally gets the chance to complete a St Leger hat trick here, five years after his last ride in the race.
The usual clash with Irish Champions weekend means he has not been at Doncaster on this day since winning on Kew Gardens in 2018.
But the classic is a week later this year so the former champion jockey is free to partner Continuous , on whom he won the Great Voltigeur Stakes (G2) at York last month.
“Everything has gone well for Continuous since York,” said O’Brien. “He won on soft ground over in France last year, so he has form with a cut in the ground, and it was quick enough at York the last day so he seems quite versatile with regard to the ground.
“We were very surprised with how well he ran in the Dante, because he was just ready to start back that day. I remember Ryan telling me earlier on in the year that the Heart’s Crys (sire of Continuous) all got a mile and a half so we were looking forward to stepping him up in trip. We felt going into the Voltigeur that he would improve plenty from it, as he was coming back from a break, so we were delighted with him there.
“They went a very strong gallop there and his best furlong was his last one. He hit the line hard so we’d be very hopeful he will stay.”
O’Brien has four runners in a race he has won six times since 2001, with Jim Crowley on Bahrain Trophy Stakes (G3) second Tower of London , whose brother Capri triumphed under Moore in 2017.
“We’ve always liked him,” O’Brien said. “That was a very good run at Newmarket last time and we always thought all along that he would get the St Leger trip too.”
Sean Levey rides Alexandroupolis , who returned from a 144-day break to finish sixth at Leopardstown last month on just the third outing of his career.
O’Brien said: “We’ve thought from day one that he was a very classy horse, but he had a mishap in the spring and missed most of the year. He was just barely ready for a race at Leopardstown when he ran. He will improve plenty more from that.”
Danny Tudhope is on Denmark, who has been placed in handicaps on his last two starts and is 4lbs better off for the length and three-quarters he was beaten by Middle Earth one week ago, Sept. 9, in the Melrose at York.
“I don’t think we have seen the best of Denmark yet,” O’Brien said. “He was very green and babyish again last weekend—he was running everywhere. We’re running him again because we’re trying to make him grow up a little bit.”
Leave feedback about this