• Source: VRC St Leger

The VRC St Leger is a Listed Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-olds, run at set weights with penalties, over a distance of 2800 metres at Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne, Australia on ANZAC Day.




History



First run in 1857, the race was originally held in March as part of the Victoria Racing Club Autumn Carnival. In 1907 the race was run on the same race card as the Newmarket Handicap.
In an effort to promote the Australian Thoroughbred breeding industry, from 1932 to 1956 geldings were banned from competing in the St. Leger.
Past St Leger Stakes winners include Australian Racing Hall of Fame inductees Grand Flaneur (1881), Poseidon (1907), Phar Lap (1930), Tranquil Star (1941) and Tulloch (1958). Several winners also captured Australia's most prestigious race, the Melbourne Cup. They are: Grand Flaneur (1881), Phar Lap (1930), 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.




= Venue

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The St. Leger was hosted by Moonee Valley Racecourse in 2001 and again in 2007 due to track refurbishments being carried out at the Flemington racecourse.




= Distance

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The race was held over a distance of 14 furlongs, 132 yards until 1973 when it was modified to the metric distance of 2800 metres. In 1975 the race was run over 2700 metres. In 2001 and 2007, the distance was changed to 2500 metres when the race was run at Moonee Valley Racecourse while Flemington was under redevelopment.




= Grade

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1857–1979 - Principal Race
1980–1990 - Group 2
1991–2005 - Group 3
2006 onwards - Listed Race




= Records

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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.




Winners






See also


The VRC St. Leger is one of a number of similar events around the world, although many are no longer restricted to three-year-olds. European variations include the Irish St. Leger, the Prix Royal-Oak, the Deutsches St. Leger and the St. Leger Italiano. Other national equivalents include the Kikuka Shō, the New Zealand St. Leger and the English St. Leger Stakes held at Doncaster.




References

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• VRC St Leger
• Saint-Léger
• St Leger Stakes
• Phar Lap
• Grand Flaneur
• Tulloch (horse)
• Flemington Racecourse
• Prince Foote
• Martini-Henry (horse)
• Ammon Ra