BRITAIN
The St Leger was the brainchild of Major‐General Anthony St Leger, an Irishman who had settled near Doncaster having married a Yorkshire woman. He had been MP for Grimsby two years before he came up with the idea of a race over two miles on Cantley Common.
The Classic was originally described only as a ‘Sweepstake of 25 Guineas’. Like the race itself, the first winner didn’t even have a name when she triumphed in 1776. Owned by the Marquess of Rockingham, who was to serve two terms as Prime Minister, she was later given the name Allabaculia.
At a dinner party thrown by the Marquess in the Red Lion pub in Doncaster’s Market Place, a pub that is still in existence, it was suggested the race should be named after the evening’s host. He declined the offer and, instead, proposed the race be named the St Leger.
It moved to its present site on Town Moor under its new St Leger title in 1778. The race first came to national prominence when the aptly‐named Champion became the first horse to complete the Derby‐St Leger double in 1800.
The distance was cut to 1m 6f and it soon became one of the most prominent races in the calendar. To this day, the winning jockey is presented with a unique trophy – an elaborate tailor‐made cap.
Many other countries have introduced their own versions of the St Leger.
The St Leger is the third leg of English Flat racing’s Triple Crown. It is an extreme test of durability, versatility and, ultimately, pure ability.
The first leg is the 2000 Guineas run over a mile at Newmarket in May. The following month the Derby over 1m4f at Epsom forms the middle leg. Any horse that wins those two Classics gets the chance to complete the Triple Crown in the St Leger over 1m6f.
JAMAICA
The Jamaica St Leger is now the second jewel in the local Triple Crown series. That came into being two years ago, as before the St Leger followed the Guineas (1000 & 2000) and the Jamaica Derby.
The new structure sequence of the local Triple Crown series is as follows, 1000 Guineas (one mile), the 2000 Guineas (one mile), the Jamaica St Leger (10 furlongs), and the Jamaica Derby )12 furlongs).
The distance of the Jamaica St Leger is 10 furlongs and is for three-year-old colts, geldings, and fillies. In the St Leger, fillies are given a sex allowance of five pounds.
The distance of the Jamaica St Leger was 14 furlongs up to 1990 after which it was changed to the present distance of 10 furlongs. The last horse to win the Jamaica St Leger at 14 furlongs was Khadullah trained by the late Kenneth Mattis and ridden by the late Hubert Bartley. The first horse to win the Jamaica St Leger at the new distance of 10 furlongs was the filly Poorlittlerichgirl trained by G A Bucknor with Bartley again in the saddle.
