Antepost favourite, Kite Wood, appeared set to reward his backers when he took the lead heading into the home stretch, but was foiled by a brilliant run by stablemate Mastery, who came home first a price of 14/1. Monitor Closely finished the race in third place.

“It was not a surprise, I had some confidence about Mastery running a big race”, winning trainer Saeed bin Suroor said after the race.

“He ran a brilliant race at York last time and this is the sort of ground he likes, fast ground, and he was nice and relaxed in the race, which I was pleased to see — Kite Wood ran a big race but I don’t think he handled the ground as well as Mastery.”

Jockey Frankie Dettori, who had been looking for a 6th win in the St Leger Stakes attributed Kite Wood’s under-par performance to the fast ground at Doncaster on the day.

“We were just beaten by a better horse on the day,” the Italian said after the race. “Kite Wood ran a great race but prefers easier ground, but what can you do?”

Harbinger raced to the top of the St Leger Stakes betting markets after winning the 12 furlong Gordon Stakes at the 2009 Glorious Goodwood Festival. However, the colt finished dead last in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York on the 18th of August.

Connections are now testing the colt for injuries as they search for answers following his sudden and unanticipated drop in form. Even if an injury is discovered to be the culprit, Harbinger appears unlikely to take part in the 14 furlong St Leger Stakes.

“I spoke to Sir Michael and nothing has come to light,” Highclere racing manager, Harry Herbert, told the Racing Post. “He is currently undergoing tests so hopefully we will know more. He was a little stiff but we don’t know exactly what the problem is.”

“It could be the muscle problem he had earlier in the season causing trouble again, or he could have knocked himself coming out of the stalls. All we know is that Ryan said he never felt right on leaving the stalls and that wasn’t his running.”

“I don’t know any more than that and while hopefully we will see him again this year, I would say a St Leger run is looking highly unlikely.”

Harbinger’s next target is the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York’s Ebor meeting. The race is a well known stepping stone on the trip to the 1 mile 6 furlong St Leger Stakes, and his appearance in the event runs counter to Stoute’s suggestions that the colt was a doubtful starter for Doncaster.

“Ryan [Moore] said he showed a lot of speed in the race and there has to be a question over whether he will get the Leger trip,” Highclare racing director, Alex Smith, told sportinglife.com. “I don’t think Michael was saying no but he was saying it wasn’t a definite plan.”

“Obviously how he performs in the Voltigeur would be one of the factors that will help us make the St Leger decision.”

“He’s very progressive and it was obviously a very big leap from a Chester maiden to a Group Three at Goodwood. He’s handled both courses very well and he’s travelled very well which Michael and Ryan particularly like.”

“At this stage it is something that is under discussion but it’s not a definite plan.”

Stoute is on a roll at the moment, with Harbinger’s Gordon Stakes win coming hot on the heels of a win for 2009 St Leger champion, Conduit, in last weekend’s King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

Stoute’s racing manager, Harry Herbert, was quick to temper punters’ interest in Harbinger by suggesting that he still needs to cut his teeth in a couple more group races before he is considered genuine St Lege material.

“We need two more races to know if he is a St Leger horse,” Herbert told the Daily Mail. “He shows a lot of speed and at Chester was still accelerating at the line, so the mile and a half shouldn’t be an issue. But his pedigree might be questionable over a mile and six.”

“He looks the classic four-year-old in the making and next season could be his big year. Hopefully, he will run a big race and improve into the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York.”

Find the best price on Harbinger in the St Leger Stakes by using our odds comparison service.

Golden Sword will lead the charge for O’Brien’s team, with the Irish Derby runner-up best priced to win the St Leger in the antepost betting markets for the race.

O’Brien’s team includes Dante Stakes winner Black Bear Island, Freemantle, Age Of Aquarius, Ulster Derby winner Changingoftheguard, Dixie Music, Great Wisdom and Curragh winner Von Jawlensky.

Meanwhile Sir Michael Stoute will be looking to build on his success in the race in 2008 with Harbinger. Stoute won his maiden St Leger title with Conduit in last year’s race.

“Harbinger’s on an upward curve and he’s a physical specimen that we can only see improving,” Highclere Syndicate spokesman, Harry Herbert, told reporters. “He would have run in the King Edward VII Stakes but he had a muscle pull, which forced him to miss a couple of pieces of work.”

A massive late gamble was put on Fame and Glory in the 2009 Epsom Derby, but the Ballydoyle colt failed to reward his backer, finishing the race just behind 2,000 Guineas winner Sea the Stars.

Despite his loss, his unquestionable class, and the likely absence of Sea the Stars from the field, means that Fame and Glory is a strong favourite to claim a Classics title later this year.

“Once again it seems that Ballydoyle already hold the key to the race and they dominate the big race betting,” said a Ladbrokes spokesperson. “Fame And Glory’s second at Epsom sets the standard for the time being.”

Age of Aquarius, another Ballydoyle colt who ran in the Epsom Derby, will also have a second shot at securing a Classics title at the St Leger, and has been priced second in the St Leger Betting markets, alongside stable-mate Habringer.

Sea The Stars proved himself capable of performing over longer distances by successfully navigating the 4 furlong step up in trip on the undulating turf of Epsom on Saturday. However, Oxx believes that the extra 2 furlongs in the St. Leger would ask too much of his charge.

“If we were worried about the trip for the Derby I think we’d be very worried going into the Leger if we had him entered,” Oxx told reporters. “We’ll have to talk about it of course but this lad will be very good over a mile, and 10 furlongs. The St Leger could be a step too far.”

While Sea The Stars appears unlikely to become the first racehorse since Nijinksy in 1971 to win the Triple Crown, his fans will have several more opportunities to see him in action this season. The Epsom Derby winner is expected to run in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown before heading to Ascot for the King George & Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Stakes.

“The Irish Derby is the obvious next race for him but he’s dependant on goodish ground and the weather here has been bad for two and a half years,” Oxx concluded.

“If he didn’t run there because of the ground he’d probably run in the Eclipse, I see him as a horse for the top mile and a quarter races like the Eclipse, the Juddmonte International, the Irish Champion Stakes and the Champion Stakes at Newmarket.”

O’Brien’s 19th group one win of the season saw him become the first trainer in 73 years to win all five of the Irish Classics in a single season. The last trainer to achieve this feat was Jack Rogers who won each of the Irish Classics in 1935.

The result bodes well for Septimus’ prospects at the 2008 Melbourne Cup where he is set to tussle with Efficient for one of the biggest flat racing prizes of the year.

Events at Curragh will also have given O’Brien something to smile about after watching English St Legers favourite Frozen Fire botch his attempt to secure a Classic title earlier in the day. None of O’Brien’s four runners in the race finished in the money.

“It’s great for the team, for Aidan, for everybody,” Johnny Murtagh, O’Brien’s first choice jockey, said once the results in Curragh had come through. “These are the things you work for – the big wins on the big days.”

Saturday’s race was Stoute’s 24th attempt to win the St Leger, and the trainer was delighted to finally achieve a career grand slam of Classic wins.

“This is a great thrill and a great relief,” Stoute said after the race. “Now at last I won’t have to field any questions about when will I end my St Leger drought!”

The day was also a happy occasion for Conduit’s rider Frankie Dettori, who was given Conduit’s reins after Ryan Moore chose stablemate Doctor Fremantle for the race.

“I said to Sir Michael you have asked Pat Eddery, Lester Piggott, Kieren Fallon and Ryan Moore and I am the last name on the list!” Dettori said after the race. “I sympathise with Ryan because I have been there many times and chosen the wrong horse. I feel blessed that it was me today to have given Michael his first ever St Leger winner.”

Tommy Stack’s Unsung Heroine ran impressively to claim second place at the 2008 St Leger Stakes, and was followed home by Epsom Oaks winner Look Here in third place.

Ralph Beckett’s Look Here is second in the betting at a price 3/1, followed by Sir Michael Stoute’s Doctor Fremantle at a price of 7/1.

The race is shaping up as a duel between the season’s leading trainer, Aidan O’Brien, and Barbadian veteran trainer Sir Michael Stoute, who is looking for his first ever St. Leger Stakes win.

The two trainers will account for eight of the entries in the field, with Frozen Fire, Allesandro Volta, Washington Irivi, Bashkirov and Hindu Kush running for O’Brien, while Stoute will be pinning his hopes on a winning performance by one of Warringah, Doctor Freemantle and Conduit.

Ryan Moore has decided to ride Doctor Freemantle for the 2008 St Leger Stakes, which means Frankie Dettori will be left taking the reins of Conduit.

These runners represent one of the strongest fields to contest the St Leger in recent years, and commentators are expecting an open race. Amongst the hopefuls is Tommy Stack’s Unsung Heroine, who is looking to become the first filly in over a decade to win the race.