Final declarations have turned the 2026 St Leger from a long ante-post list into an 11-runner race, and the betting says this is much more open at the top than it looked a week ago.
Christmas Day, the Derby winner, remains right at the head of the market, but Joseph O’Brien’s Enceladus has been backed hard enough to join him at around 9/4 with several bookmakers. Pierre Bonnard is close behind at roughly 3/1 to 7/2, before the market opens up sharply to Highwayman and Hatteen at double-figure prices.
The Betfred St Leger is due off at 3.35pm at Doncaster on Saturday 12th September. It is a Group 1 for three-year-old colts and fillies over 1m6f, with £700,000 in total prize money, and the racecard currently shows the ground as good to soft.
This is also the 250th running of the St Leger, first staged in 1776, so there is plenty going on before we even get to the form.
Prices can move between now and race time, but here is currently how the final field looks.
2026 St Leger Runners & Odds
*Odds from Betfred correct at time of publication.
| Number | Horse | Trainer | Jockey | Odds | 3 | Christmas Day | A P O’Brien | Ronan Whelan | 2/1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Enceladus | J P O’Brien | Billy Loughnane | 9/4 |
| 9 | Pierre Bonnard | A P O’Brien | TBC | 7/2 |
| 8 | Highwayman | J P O’Brien | Saffie Osborne | 11/1 |
| 7 | Hatteen | A M Balding | F Bughanaim | 16/1 |
| 11 | Amelia Earhart | A P O’Brien | TBC | 25/1 |
| 2 | Alderman | R Hannon | Rossa Ryan | 33/1 |
| 5 | Galiyan | A M Balding | D Tudhope | 33/1 |
| 6 | Golden Story | K R Burke | C Lee | 33/1 |
| 1 | Action | A P O’Brien | Rossa Ryan | 66/1 |
| 10 | Rebel Rocker | Faye Bramley | Jason Watson | 80/1 |
Christmas Day
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
Christmas Day brings the strongest single result into the race after winning the Derby at Epsom in June. He handled very soft ground that day and beat Maltese Cross by two and three-quarter lengths, before finishing second to Benvenuto Cellini in the Irish Derby.
His final St Leger prep came in the Great Voltigeur at York, where he was third behind Maltese Cross and Pierre Bonnard while carrying a 5lb Group 1 penalty. He now meets Pierre Bonnard at level weights.
The distance is the unanswered question, because Christmas Day has yet to race beyond a mile and a half, but there was nothing weak about the way he stayed at Epsom. A win would make him the first Derby winner since Reference Point in 1987 to complete the Derby and St Leger double.
Enceladus
Trainer: Joseph O’Brien
If there is one horse whose price tells the story of the build-up, it is Enceladus. He began the year by winning a maiden at Cork, then moved into a Royal Ascot handicap off a mark of 89 and won the King George V Stakes over a mile and a half.
He stepped into Group company at Goodwood next time and won the Gordon Stakes by a length and a quarter. That gives him three wins from three starts in 2026 and explains why his price has shortened so much.
Billy Loughnane has been booked to ride, with Joseph O’Brien’s regular jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle sidelined through injury. Enceladus has not yet raced over the St Leger distance, but his style and steady progress give backers reason to think the extra two and a half furlongs may suit.
Pierre Bonnard
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
Pierre Bonnard may be the slightly forgotten horse among the top three, which seems odd given the form.
He finished third in the Irish Derby, only a neck behind Christmas Day, and then finished second to Maltese Cross in the Great Voltigeur at York, beating Christmas Day by more than two lengths.
There is a reason Christmas Day remains shorter in most markets. The Derby winner had to carry a 5lb penalty at York, while Pierre Bonnard did not. Saturday gives them a cleaner comparison at level weights.
Even so, his official rating puts Pierre Bonnard much closer to Christmas Day than Enceladus on established figures. He may not have won this season, but he has been keeping very strong company.
Highwayman
Trainer: Joseph O’Brien
Highwayman is one of the more unusual St Leger runners because his early form gave little sign that he would end up here.
He was well beaten in his first four starts, most of them over distances that now look too short, before improving sharply when stepped up in trip.
He won a Killarney maiden over about 1m3½f by nine lengths in July and followed that by winning the Listed Vinnie Roe Stakes at Leopardstown over 1m6f, virtually the same as the St Leger trip.
He beat Cannes by two and a quarter lengths at 22/1 and now arrives chasing a third straight win.
Saffie Osborne rides for Joseph O’Brien, and while he needs to improve again on his official rating, his stamina is less of a question than it is for several shorter-priced runners.
Hatteen
Trainer: Andrew Balding
Hatteen is the lowest-rated horse in the field, but there are reasons why bookmakers do not have him priced like one.
He has already won at Doncaster, taking the St Leger Trial Novice Stakes over a mile and a half in July by four and a quarter lengths. He then went to Goodwood and was beaten only a head by Infraad in a competitive handicap, having had to wait for room before making his run.
The obvious concern is the jump in class. Hatteen has not raced in Listed or Group company and is now going straight into a Group 1 leaving him with plenty to find.
The other side of the argument is that he has run only five times, knows Doncaster and looks as though longer races are helping him.
Amelia Earhart
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
Amelia Earhart is the only filly in the final field and carries 9st, 3lb less than the colts.
Her season has not developed quite as expected after she started the year as a major Oaks contender, but she comes into the St Leger off a second-place finish which has boosted her chances.
She still needs a big step forward to trouble the leading colts on ratings, yet the weight allowance and the possibility of improvement over a longer distance give her more interest than the price alone might suggest.
Alderman
Trainer: Richard Hannon
Alderman already has Derby experience, having finished fifth at Epsom, and his rating gives him a respectable base from which to start.
His recent form has not pushed him towards the top of the St Leger betting, and he needs to show that moving beyond a mile and a half will bring out more.
Rossa Ryan is booked to ride, and at his price, Alderman is easier to see as a place contender than as the most likely winner, but his Derby run means he is not coming into the race without top-level experience.
Galiyan
Trainer: Andrew Balding
Galiyan is Andrew Balding’s second runner and has the same official rating as Alderman.
He was fifth in the Great Voltigeur behind Maltese Cross, Pierre Bonnard and Christmas Day, which leaves him with a clear form gap to close.
The St Leger does give him extra distance, however, and he is lightly raced enough for improvement to remain possible.
Daniel Tudhope rides, but he needs the York form to change quite a bit. That said, bigger-priced horses can often run better than expected when a Classic becomes a strong staying test.
Golden Story
Trainer: Karl Burke
Golden Story has won at Doncaster before and comes from a stable that has enjoyed another strong Flat season.
His official rating puts him below the main group on the figures and his latest fourth-place finish was not enough to pull him into the main betting conversation.
Clifford Lee rides but he is still one of those runners who needs a career-best by some way. Course experience is at least one positive in a race where most of the field are seeing Doncaster for the first time.
Rebel Rocker
Trainer: Faye Bramley
Rebel Rocker is one of the less obvious runners on form and price, with bookmakers making him one of the outsiders of the field.
His rating means he is not miles behind Golden Story, Galiyan or Alderman, but he has not yet produced a run that puts him alongside the three horses dominating the market.
Jason Watson is booked but the St Leger demands a lot from a three-year-old, and Rebel Rocker needs both improvement and the longer trip to work strongly in his favour.
Action
Trainer: Aidan O’Brien
Action is the biggest price in most books, despite an official rating of 109 that is higher than seven of his rivals.
That tells you how much the market is reacting to his recent results, including being well beaten in both the Derby and Irish Derby.
His place in the Ballydoyle team could still be important because he is capable of helping to set a proper pace. That would make stamina a serious issue from a long way out and could help stablemates Christmas Day and Pierre Bonnard.
If Action himself were to win, it would be a major form reversal, but his rating shows he has ability even if his recent finishing positions are difficult to ignore.
Who Has the Strongest St Leger Case?
The market has identified three clear runners in Christmas Day, Enceladus and Pierre Bonnard.
Christmas Day has the best achievement, Enceladus has the strongest improvement curve and Pierre Bonnard has the form to make both of them work.
After those three, Highwayman is the runner who makes the most sense as a different option because he has already won a Listed race over 1m6f and is still moving forward. Hatteen is also interesting because he has won at Doncaster and was unlucky not to win at Goodwood.
The ratings say Christmas Day is the horse to beat. The betting says Enceladus may be every bit as dangerous. The form says Pierre Bonnard should not be pushed aside.
That makes the 250th St Leger a lot more interesting than a simple short-priced favourite against ten hopefuls.
There are three strong cases at the top, two credible double-figure alternatives and enough unknowns over the extra distance to make Saturday’s 3.35 at Doncaster worth watching very closely.
BETFRED
