KY-Bred Storm the Stars Favored for St. Leger
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The staying power of Kentucky-bred Storm the Stars will be tested Sept. 12 at Doncaster, when he meets six opponents in the Ladbrokes St. Leger (Eng-I).
The son of Sea The Stars is the 2-1 favorite for the 1 3/4-mile classic after finishing third in the Investec Epsom Derby (Eng-I) and second in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby (Ire-I). He followed with a third in the Grand Prix de Paris (Fr-I) July 14 at Longchamp and enters off a victory in the Great Voltigeur (Eng-II) Aug. 19 at York, both at 1 1/2 miles.
"I would be surprised if he doesn't stay well," said Bruce Raymond, racing manager for Storm the Stars' owner, Sheikh Juma Dalmook Al Maktoum. "I think Storm the Stars is an ideal horse for the Ladbrokes St. Leger.
"He is a bit one-paced, as most of them are, but he is a classic horse, with a second and third in two Derbys. So he is a proper horse for the St. Leger."
Storm the Stars was bred in Kentucky by Summerwind Farm from the Sadler's Wells mare Love Me Only, a half sister to six-time group I winner Central Kentucky sire Giant's Causeway .
"Storm the Stars is an easy horse from the point of view that every race he has run in he has given 100%," trainer William Haggas said. "He is a tough horse. He is not the easiest at home, as has been well documented, but if he performs well out on the track, we will forgive him.
"Hopefully, the step up in trip will improve him, but you never really know until you actually go and do it. The signs are that he should be a better horse over a bit farther, but it is the end of a long, hard year and he has given us everything so far."
Supplemented for the St. Leger Monday at a cost of £50,000, Simple Verse is aiming to become the first filly to win the race since User Friendly in 1992. The Ralph Beckett-trained daughter of Duke of Marmalade won at the St. Leger distance last time out at Goodwood, taking the Lillie Langtry Fillies Stakes (Eng-III) July 30.
Group III winners Fields of Athenry and Bondi Beach, both sons of Galileo, will bid to provide trainer Aidan O'Brien a fifth win in the race. The latter was a half-length second to Storm the Stars in the Great Voltigeur.
O'Brien entrant Order of St George was withdrawn Friday from the St. Leger because of the surface, which is currently rated from good to firm in places, but heavy rain is forecast for race day.
Completing the field are stakes winner Medrano (Archipenko), Proposed (Invincible Spirit), and Vengeur Masque (Monsun).