'Can you lend me summat?' King turns down racegoer but gives Donny a day to remember

As one might suspect of a contest with a winner named Continuous, this was an afternoon that delivered more of the same. Aidan O'Brien now has seven St Legers to his name, but there was still something wonderfully new about the 248th staging of Doncaster's big day. Even without the result so many had hoped for, it was a singularly special occasion.

Only nine horses took part but two of them arrived with the potential to deliver dream outcomes.

There could have been no room for complaints had Frankie Dettori triumphed aboard Arrest in his final British Classic. In a neat publicity stunt, St Leger sponsor Fred Done had placed a huge card close to the weighing room entrance. Inside the card was a mass of signatures, while on its front, and beneath the Betfred logo, were the words 'Farewell to a racing legend'. It proved to be a fond farewell but not a winning one.