Meet the trainer who won the St Leger after only two days with a licence - but had to watch the race on a tiny Channel 4 monitor

Neil Graham had held a training licence for only two days before the St Leger in 1988 and made a dream start to his career when Minster Son landed the world’s oldest Classic under Willie Carson, who also bred the colt.

The pre-race chat on Town Moor that day was all about the Henry Cecil-trained filly Diminuendo, who was 4-7 after winning the Epsom, Irish and Yorkshire Oaks, but she had never raced beyond a mile and a half.

Graham had flown up to Doncaster that morning in Carson’s plane but the rain they encountered close to landing dampened enthusiasm for their runner, who had previously been prepared by Dick Hern to win the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood.

Neil Graham temporarily took over the training of Minster Son while Dick Hern was ill

Graham said: “Dick had been unwell in hospital for a while and the Jockey Club thought it important to have someone else in charge, so I was promoted from assistant only two days before the St Leger. 

"I remember our first runner, Prince Of Dance, had won the Champagne Stakes the day before, so it was a bit of a whirlwind start.”

Graham had an odd vantage point to watch the race. He said: “The owner, Lady Beaverbrook, was a bit eccentric and wouldn’t go in the stands to watch the race. There were no big screens in those days, so we ended up watching the race on a tiny Channel 4 monitor in the paddock. 

• Watch a replay of the 1988 St Leger

"We were worried about Diminuendo and she came there cantering two furlongs out but ran out of petrol, and Minster Son swept past her and won in good style.”

Not long after that Classic triumph, Graham moved to Newmarket where he trained successfully for many years before having a spell with Godolphin. He can now be found regularly at a racecourse just an hour’s drive from the town.

Now 65, he said: “I’ve been racecourse director at Chelmsford for a number of years and it keeps me busy as we have more than 40 meetings a year. I was first asked to help get the track back in action back in 2011 and have stayed here ever since.”

Read more:

'He looks the clear value' - why this horse can win at the St Leger meeting or the Irish Champions Festival 

Sean Levey bids for back-to-back St Legers after 'massive privilege' of getting call-up on Derby hero Lambourn 

Confirmed runners and riders for the St Leger at Doncaster on Saturday as Ballydoyle jockey bookings are revealed 

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