VRC St Leger
Encyclopedia
The Victoria Racing Club's
St Leger Stakes is one of Australia's
oldest Thoroughbred horse race
s held on ANZAC Day
at Flemington Racecourse
in Melbourne
. First run in 1857, the Listed race is open to three-year-olds and is run on turf
over a distance of 2800m (app. 1.75 miles).
Once one of the most prestigious events on the Melbourne racing calendar, until 1980 the St. Leger Stakes carried Group 1
status. After being a Group 2 event for a quarter of a century, it was downgraded to Group 3 and since 2006 is a Listed race.
Past St Leger Stakes winners include Australian Racing Hall of Fame
inductees Grand Flaneur
(1881), Phar Lap
(1930), Tulloch
(1958), Poseidon
(1907), plus Hall of Fame nominee Tranquil Star
(1941). Several winners also captured Australia's most prestigious race, the Melbourne Cup
. They are: Grand Flaneur (1881), Comic Court
(1949), Delta (1950), and Gurner's Lane
(1982). In 1956, Sailor's Guide
won the race and in 1958 raced in North America
where he defeated a top international field in the forerunner to the Breeders' Cup Turf
, the then very prestigious Washington, D.C. International Stakes.
Run annually in late April, the St. Leger Stakeswas hosted by Moonee Valley Racecourse
in 2001 and again in 2005 due to track refurbishments being carried out at the Flemington racecourse. The race was competed over a distance of 14 furlongs, 132 yards until 1973 when it was modified to the metric distance of 2800 metres (app. 1.74 miles). In 2007, it was modified to 2500 metres when the race was run at Moonee Valley Racecourse
while Flemington was under redevelopment.
In an effort to promote the Australian Thoroughbred breeding industry, from 1932 to 1956 gelding
s were banned from competing in the St. Leger Stakes.
Previously tied with T.J. Smith at six wins, in 2005 Bart Cummings
set the record for most victories by a trainer
when he won the race for the seventh time.
Victoria Racing Club
The Victoria Racing Club was founded in 1864. It was formed following the disbanding of the Victoria Turf Club and the Victoria Jockey Club. A legacy passed from the Victoria Turf Club was the annual “race that stops a nation”, the Melbourne Cup, which was first contested in 1861.From its...
St Leger Stakes is one of Australia's
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
oldest Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...
s held on ANZAC Day
ANZAC Day
Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who fought at Gallipoli in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all...
at Flemington Racecourse
Flemington Racecourse
Flemington Racecourse is a major horse racing venue located in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is most notable for hosting the Melbourne Cup, which is Australia's richest horse race. The racecourse is situated on low alluvial flats, next to the Maribyrnong River...
in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
. First run in 1857, the Listed race is open to three-year-olds and is run on turf
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
over a distance of 2800m (app. 1.75 miles).
Once one of the most prestigious events on the Melbourne racing calendar, until 1980 the St. Leger Stakes carried Group 1
Group One
Group One or Group 1 is the term used for the highest level of Thoroughbred and Standardbred stakes races in many countries. Group One races may be run under handicap conditions in Australia but in Europe weight-for-age conditions always apply. Races may be also restricted to age groups or a...
status. After being a Group 2 event for a quarter of a century, it was downgraded to Group 3 and since 2006 is a Listed race.
Notable winners
Australian Racing Hall of Fame
The Australian Racing Hall of Fame is part of the Australian Racing Museum which documents and honours the horseracing legends of Australia. The museum officially opened in 1981 and created the Hall of Fame in 2000....
inductees Grand Flaneur
Grand Flaneur
Grand Flaneur was an outstanding Australian Thoroughbred racehorse and sire, who won nine successive races, including the AJC Derby, the Victoria Derby and the Melbourne Cup, before he retired undefeated. He had won races over distances ranging from five furlongs to three miles...
(1881), Phar Lap
Phar Lap
Phar Lap was a champion Thoroughbred racehorse whose achievements captured the public's imagination during the early years of the Great Depression. Foaled in New Zealand, he was trained and raced in Australia. Phar Lap dominated Australian racing during a distinguished career, winning a Melbourne...
(1930), Tulloch
Tulloch (horse)
Tulloch was a Thoroughbred racehorse, who is regarded as one of the three finest racehorses in Australian racing history...
(1958), Poseidon
Poseidon (horse)
Poseidon was an Australian Thoroughbred Hall of Fame racehorse. He won 19 races over distances ranging from five furlongs to three miles...
(1907), plus Hall of Fame nominee Tranquil Star
Tranquil Star
Tranquil Star was one of the hardiest and best performed Australian-bred Thoroughbred race-mares. She is the only mare to have won the double of the Caulfield Stakes, now known as the Yalumba Stakes, and the Cox Plate, which is the most prestigious weight-for-age race in Australia...
(1941). Several winners also captured Australia's most prestigious race, the Melbourne Cup
Melbourne Cup
The Melbourne Cup is Australia's major Thoroughbred horse race. Marketed as "the race that stops a nation", it is a 3,200 metre race for three-year-olds and over. It is the richest "two-mile" handicap in the world, and one of the richest turf races...
. They are: Grand Flaneur (1881), Comic Court
Comic Court
Comic Court was a most versatile post-war Australian bred Thoroughbred racehorse who set race records at distances of 6 furlongs and 2 miles...
(1949), Delta (1950), and Gurner's Lane
Gurner's Lane
Gurner's Lane was a Thoroughbred racehorse who was the 1983 champion. He is best remembered for winning the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups double in 1982...
(1982). In 1956, Sailor's Guide
Sailor's Guide
Sailor's Guide was an outstanding Thoroughbred racehorse that was conceived in England and foaled in Australia. He is notable in that he won races in the United States, Canada, and a number of principal Australian races, and was a high stakes earner....
won the race and in 1958 raced in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
where he defeated a top international field in the forerunner to the Breeders' Cup Turf
Breeders' Cup Turf
The Breeders' Cup Turf is a Weight for Age Thoroughbred horse race on turf for three-year-olds and up. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships. The race's current title sponsor is Emirates Airlines.The forerunner...
, the then very prestigious Washington, D.C. International Stakes.
Run annually in late April, the St. Leger Stakeswas hosted by Moonee Valley Racecourse
Moonee Valley Racecourse
Moonee Valley Racecourse is a horse-racing track in Melbourne, Australia which hosts races for Thoroughbreds. Located six kilometers from the Melbourne CBD, it is the home of the Moonee Valley Racing Club...
in 2001 and again in 2005 due to track refurbishments being carried out at the Flemington racecourse. The race was competed over a distance of 14 furlongs, 132 yards until 1973 when it was modified to the metric distance of 2800 metres (app. 1.74 miles). In 2007, it was modified to 2500 metres when the race was run at Moonee Valley Racecourse
Moonee Valley Racecourse
Moonee Valley Racecourse is a horse-racing track in Melbourne, Australia which hosts races for Thoroughbreds. Located six kilometers from the Melbourne CBD, it is the home of the Moonee Valley Racing Club...
while Flemington was under redevelopment.
In an effort to promote the Australian Thoroughbred breeding industry, from 1932 to 1956 gelding
Gelding
A gelding is a castrated horse or other equine such as a donkey or a mule. Castration, and the elimination of hormonally driven behavior associated with a stallion, allows a male horse to be calmer and better-behaved, making the animal quieter, gentler and potentially more suitable as an everyday...
s were banned from competing in the St. Leger Stakes.
Previously tied with T.J. Smith at six wins, in 2005 Bart Cummings
Bart Cummings
James Bartholomew 'Bart' Cummings, AM is one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers. He is known as the Cups King, referring to the Melbourne Cup, as the he has won the 'race that stops a nation' a record 12 times....
set the record for most victories by a trainer
Horse trainer
In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...
when he won the race for the seventh time.
Winners of the VRC St Leger Stakes since 2001
| Year |
Winner |
Jockey |
Trainer |
Owner |
Time |
| 2008 | Moment In Time (Dead Heat) | Damien Oliver | Mick Huxtable | 3:01.12 | |
| 2008 | Inkster (Dead Heat) | Matthew Gatt | Mick Price | 3:01.12 | |
| 2007 | Lazer Sharp | Vlad Duric | Jamie Edwards | Alan Walkerden | 2:38.55 |
| 2006 | Dolphin Jo | Nash Rawiller Nash Rawiller Nash Rawiller is a prominent Australian jockey who mainly rides at meetings in Sydney. He started his career riding in Melbourne but moved to Sydney to ride for prominent trainer Gai Waterhouse. His biggest win to date was riding Elvstroem to victory in the 2004 Caulfield Cup... |
Terry O'Sullivan | Glenys & Lois Herman | 2:59.55 |
| 2005 | Accumulate | Blake Shinn | Bart Cummings Bart Cummings James Bartholomew 'Bart' Cummings, AM is one of the most successful Australian racehorse trainers. He is known as the Cups King, referring to the Melbourne Cup, as the he has won the 'race that stops a nation' a record 12 times.... |
Dato Tan Chin Nam Dato Tan Chin Nam Dato' Tan Chin Nam is an entrepreneur and developer in Malaysia and an owner of Australian-based Thoroughbred racehorses. His family is the majority shareholder of IGB Corporation Berhad.... |
2:58.68 |
| 2004 | Desert Clearance | Luke Nolen | Peter G. Moody | Lucky Racing Syndicate | 3:00.42 |
| 2003 | Sir Pentire | Nash Rawiller Nash Rawiller Nash Rawiller is a prominent Australian jockey who mainly rides at meetings in Sydney. He started his career riding in Melbourne but moved to Sydney to ride for prominent trainer Gai Waterhouse. His biggest win to date was riding Elvstroem to victory in the 2004 Caulfield Cup... |
Robbie Laing | Robbie Laing | NF |
| 2002 | Grey Song | Damien Oliver | Tommy Hughes, Jr. | Tommy Hughes, Sr. | NF |
| 2001 | Big Pat | Peter Mertens | Peter Tulloch | Pindanon Racing Syndicate | NF |