Ratings Update: Logician the pick of this year's classic winners

It’s not often that the St Leger winner ends the year with a higher Timeform rating than the winners of the other four English classics, but that looks likely to be the case this season. Unbeaten St Leger winners don’t come along very often either, but Logician (126p from 124p) has progressed rapidly to win all five of his starts in a career spanning less than four months and is as exciting a three-year-old colt as there’s been this season, one who looks a top-class mile and a half performer in the making rather than one destined for the staying races. With the unusual sight of a St Leger winner coming up the stand rail, Logician needed just one tap of the whip to assert impressively and was value for more than his two and a quarter length winning margin.

What a performance, LOGICIAN storms home in the @WilliamHill St Leger at @DoncasterRaces for John Gosden! 🏇

An excellent 2019 continues for that man @FrankieDettori!

(🎥@AtTheRaces)pic.twitter.com/UmRxf8PUXV

— Timeform Live (@TimeformLive) 14 September 2019

For the record, the current ratings of this season’s other classic winners are; Magna Grecia (2000 Guineas) 124, Anthony Van Dyck (Derby) 123, Hermosa (1000 Guineas) 118, Anapurna (Oaks) 115.

The Mark Johnston-trained pair who filled the places behind Logician both improved their ratings too, Sir Ron Priestley (122 from 114) gamely taking second late on in the manner of a future Cup horse, with the Gordon Stakes winner Nayef Road (120 from 114) resuming his progress after not giving his true running behind Logician in the Great Voltigeur.

Reigning top stayer Stradivarius will be hard to dethrone for a while yet, though, his win in Friday’s Doncaster Cup, his tenth in a row, more of historical significance as he became the first to complete the traditional stayer’s triple crown (Ascot, Goodwood, Doncaster) since Double Trigger in 1995. He didn’t have to run within 10 lb of his best (128) after the withdrawal of old rival Dee Ex Bee.

Conditions on the firm side for all four days of the St Leger meeting resulted in depleted fields for many of the races, though the Portland Handicap that opened the St Leger was as competitive as ever and was won by progressive three-year-old Oxted (119 from 114) who had to dig deep to thwart 2018 winner A Moment of Madness (108 from 110) by half a length. Oxted had been denied a listed win at Newbury by subsequent Stewards’ Cup winner Khaadem at Newbury earlier in the year but he looks well up to winning at that level at least in future.

Although the Park Stakes cut up to just five runners, it was very much a Group 2-standard line-up, though tactically things fell the way of hold-up performer Sir Dancealot (121 from 119) who added to his Lennox Stakes win earlier in the year. Also supplementing a success at Goodwood in the summer was Enbihaar (115) who didn’t need to improve to complete a hat-trick in the Park Hill Stakes, though Oaks fifth Delphinia (112 from 104) ran much her best race up in trip in making the winner pull out all the stops.

Friday’s Sceptre Stakes for fillies over seven furlongs was one of the meeting’s more competitive contests and it was four-year-old Breathtaking Look (107 from 100), winner of a couple of Newmarket handicaps in the summer, who sprung a 20/1 surprise from the front.

Elsewhere at the meeting, well-bred three-year-olds Davydenko (111p from 109p) and Mutamaasik (108p from 105p) had only small fields to beat in handicaps over ten and seven furlongs respectively, but both are on an upward curve in that sphere, while another three-year-old Fox Tal (113+ from 108) made a belated but successful reappearance in Thursday’s conditions race over ten furlongs against some smart rivals.  

The pre-race favourite Threat takes the Champagne Stakes at @Doncasterraces 🍾

A winner for @RHannonRacing pic.twitter.com/UyR66MVGGT

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) 14 September 2019

The meeting’s top two-year-old contest, the Champagne Stakes, went to the Gimcrack winner Threat (114p) stepping up to seven furlongs for the first time, though a bunched finish and ordinary time was indicative of a modest pace. While the winner didn’t improve on his York rating, once-raced runner-up Royal Crusade (109p from 95P) showed plenty of progress three weeks on from an impressive debut at Newmarket and he could be one for the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at the Arc meeting.

Over the same trip the day before, two more promising colts fought out the finish of the listed Flying Scotsman Stakes. Like Threat, the well-backed Molatham (109p from 101p) was following up a win at the Ebor meeting (in the valuable Convivial Maiden) and is ready for pattern races now, though on looks it won’t be until next year that he comes into his own. Aidan O’Brien’s runner-up Wichita (105p from 88p) couldn’t quite match the winner’s burst of speed but he’s also open to further improvement after just two starts.

Strongly supported in the betting, Molatham (Eves F) puts in an impressive effort to take the (Listed) Flying Scotsman Stakes at @DoncasterRaces for @JimCrowley1978 and @varianstable! 🏇

Another boost for the Mums Tipple form!🔥

(🎥@AtTheRaces)pic.twitter.com/GSbqlo6zFf

— Timeform Live (@TimeformLive) 13 September 2019

With chief rival Alligator Alley (107 – loses ‘p’ on rating) a major disappointment, A’ali made the most of a good opportunity to land his third Group 2 in the Flying Childers Stakes without having to run up to his best form (111) and could now head for the Breeders’ Cup. In the May Hill Stakes for fillies, Powerful Breeze (102p from 95p) swooped in stylish fashion to take her record to two out of two ahead of fellow improvers Boomer (101p from 99p) and Alpen Rose (99 from 87p).