Five Royal Ascot runners that could make waves in the St Leger

Following some eye-catching trials at Royal Ascot, we look at those who have staked a claim for the St Leger so far this week.

Stradivarius
Winner, Queen’s Vase; best price for the St Leger 16-1

The obvious place to start is with the winner of the Queen’s Vase. Last year Harbour Law took this route to the St Leger and now that the race is down in trip and up in grade, it makes even more sense as a Leger trial.

Stradivarius is a progressive colt with a high-class middle-distance pedigree and trainer John Gosden agrees with the paper impression that he is the right type for Doncaster. Most would agree that Gosden is a man to know, having trained four Leger winners.

Where Stradivarius may have to play catch-up is on form. There has been broad agreement between races like the Derby, Tercentenary and King Edward VII so far this week, so an ordinary Queen's Vase would be lacking in terms of strength.

Khalidi
2nd, King Edward VII; best price 20-1

The King Edward proved a messy race and the uncomplicated ride William Buick gave to Permian was more than likely the decisive factor. The way in which Khalidi finished would certainly suggest he might have gone close or even won on another day.

Much like Permian, Khalidi saw his upsurge in form halted in the Derby but similarly he also showed it to be no more than a pause at Ascot.

More so than Stradivarius, Khalidi really is bred for the Leger. He’s by High Chaparral and is from a family of stayers including Melbourne Cup second Bauer.

Sir John Lavery
9th, King Edward VII; best price 25-1

A left-field choice, but Sir John Lavery would have been a leading Leger type before his last two starts and Friday’s run was not without promise with a view to stepping up in trip.

He was poorly placed and essentially turned in with no chance. From there he stayed on only gradually, but did not lose much ground on the principals in the straight and was not given anything like as hard a time as they were.

Remember that Sir John Lavery, as well bred as you might expect from a Ballydoyle colt, has had just four starts in his career and two of the three that preceded Friday (debut, Lingfield flop) were write-offs. He may yet come good.

Coronet
Winner, Ribblesdale Stakes (Thursday); best price 14-1

Fillies in the St Leger have had a fair degree of success in recent seasons and Coronet has plenty of the right credentials, not least in her family (half-brother Midas Touch was second to Arctic Cosmos in 2010).

Her defeat of the well-fancied Mori is a big advert for her claims, while the fact she’d been beaten in Group 1s on her two prior starts is not so off-putting with Doncaster in mind, where late bloomers are very much welcome.

Atty Persse
Winner, King George V Stakes; best price 16-1

Unlike in the other Classics, which demand precocity, the St Leger welcomes handicappers and Atty Persse technically counts for that category despite letting the mask slip in the King George V. He is a Group horse in-waiting, as his three-length win in a competitive handicap shows.

It is very likely that connections will run Atty Persse again between now and September. He has had just the four starts thus far and Roger Charlton and Godolphin are generally circumspect enough not to jump from handicaps to Group 1s unless absolutely necessary. When he does, we shall see if initial, quite conservative, offers for the Leger are justified.