St. Leger is one of the most
prestigious horse races in Great Britain. It is also the oldest one
of the five classics, established in 1776 and the last of the five to
be run each year. The race takes place in Doncaster and is part of
the four-day St. Leger festival, attracting a large audience both on
the track and on television. Today, we will talk about the horses and
trainers
who are top favorites to win the 2019 edition of the race.
Betting on St. Leger 2019
Sponsored by William Hill, this event
attracts a lot of punters in the UK and all over the world, who never
hesitate to put their money on a horse they think can come out on
top. Sports bookmakers have already come out with betting odds for
this event.
They currently have Japan as the heavy
favorite at 4/1. Broome is next at 9/1 and Anthony Van Dyck,
Constantinople, Logician, Sir Dragonet and Sovereign all received
odds of 10/1. The four horses that are least likely to win are
Severance, Peach Tree, King Pellinor, and Kiefer, all at 100/1.
Although horse racing can be a bit hard
to predict, bookies
are generally correct with their odds. Last year’s favorite, Lah Ti
Dar, finished second. The biggest surprise was Southern France,
finishing third despite relatively high odds of 20/1 of winning the
race.
Now, let’s go over some of the top
favorites.
Japan
Trained by the very successful Irishman
Aidan O’Brien, Japan has had great results lately, winning 2 out of
his last 3 races, including a prestigious win at the Royal Ascot in
June. He was also the heavy favorite for that race, and he delivered,
which gives us very little doubt that he will come through again in
Doncaster.
Japan is rightfully the top favorite
and then some for this event, but, as we said previously, anything
can happen when it comes to horse racing. However, anything else but
a win for Japan seems pretty unlikely at this point.
Broome
Another favorite that is trained by A P
O’Brien, as are most other favorites, is Broome. This horse has had
great thus far, winning 3 out of his 8 races. He had an outstanding
start of the year after he won his for two races, the Derrinstown
Stud Derby Trial Stakes and the P.W. McGrath Memorial Ballysax
Stakes. He was also pretty good at the end of 2018, but his last two
races were rather disappointing, finishing 4/13 and 6/8.
However, given his history of success,
and the overall solid year he’s had, we would still put Broome
among the top favorites to win the St. Leger Stakes in September.
Anthony Van Dyck
Sired by legendary horse Galileo,
Anthony Van Dyck has risen as one of the top racing horses after
winning the 2019
Epsom Derby. He also took the Derby Trial Stakes in May, in his
debut as a 3 year old.
In his most recent race, the Irish
Derby, Anthony started as a 5/4 favorite but ended the race in 4th
place despite making some nice progress during the race.
Given his impressive record of 8 top 3
finishes in 10 races, including 5 wins, it is hard not to count on
Anthony Van Dyck as one of the heavy favorites for this race.
Constantinople
Constantinople is having an outstanding
year, earning top 2 finishes in all 4 of his races thus far, and
there is no reason to believe that the 2019 St. Lager Stakes will be
anything different. Even if we go back to 2018, this horse hasn’t
finished outside the top 3 since his very first race in August 2018.
A full year and 7 more races under the belt, Constantinople will look
to keep his impressive run going in this tournament.