Thursday 1 September: British horseracing is steeped in history, but no Classic race can claim an older heritage than the Ladbrokes St Leger at Doncaster Racecourse which was first established in 1776 and celebrates its 225th running on Saturday 10 September 2011.
What's more, time and time again we can draw parallels with previous races in the elusive search for the next winner, for the St Leger has a happy habit of being won by previously successful jockeys and trainers. It's just a matter of finding the right one.
During its history, the race has been won on 16 occasions by the same trainer, nine times by the same jockey and seven times by the same owner but never twice by the same horse. This is for the simple reason that the St Leger, being one of the five British Classics, is restricted to horses that are three years old.
This year's race, which forms part of the all-important QIPCO British Champions Series, is likely to be contested by nine trainers, jockeys or owners who've enjoyed success in previous years.
Amongst the training ranks, Sir Michael Stoute, John Gosden and Aidan O'Brien have already celebrated a St Leger victory with the latter having won it on three occasions to date. Amongst the jockeys, William Buick, Jamie Spencer and Frankie Dettori have all tasted victory, with Frankie notching up five victories in previous St Legers. Certain owners have also proved luckier than others over the years, with Godolphin, Coolmore and Khalid Abdulla each having collected the trophy on at least one occasion.
Look back through the decades and you'll see history repeating itself again and again. The great Lester Piggott won the race on eight occasions; Gordon Richards five times; and Fred Archer four times. Legendary trainers Dick Hern and Sir Henry Cecil have lifted the prize nine times between them.
From an historical perspective, the horses with the greatest chance of victory this year have to be: Blue Bunting, owned by Godolphin and ridden by Frankie Dettori; Sea Moon, trained by Sir Michael Stoute and owned by Khalid Abdullah; or one of Aidan O'Brien's runners for Coolmore.
Ten Facts You Might Not Know About the St Leger
1. The race was founded by Anthony St Leger (properly pronounced Sellinger) in 1776, but it didn't carry his name in the title until 1778.
2. The race was first run over two miles but its distance was cut in 1813 to 1 mile, 6 furlongs, 193 yards and has remained much the same ever since.
3. The St Leger is the oldest of the five Classics, the others being the Derby, Oaks, 2,000 Guineas and 1,000 Guineas.
4. The St Leger is the third and final part of the Triple Crown - 2000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger (colts) and 1000 Guineas, Oaks and St Leger (fillies). The only colt to complete the series since the Second World War was Nijinsky in 1970, while Oh So Sharp achieved it for the fillies in 1985.
5. The event has been at its present location, Town Moor in Doncaster, since 1778 with few exceptions.
6. The 1939 race was cancelled because of the outbreak of the Second World War early in September.
7. Frankie Dettori has ridden the winner three times in the last six years; John Gosden has trained the winner twice in the last four years.
8. The Queen's filly Dunfermline won the St Leger during Her Majesty's Silver Jubilee year in 1977.
9. A 19th Century adage was that 'while the fittest horse wins the 2000 Guineas and the luckiest horse wins the Derby, the best horse wins the St Leger'.
10. In the early years of the St Leger, horses entered for the race had to be 'shown' at a spot outside Doncaster called Lousy Bush Close.
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