The 2026 St Leger already had history on its side before the final declarations came out, with this year marking the 250th running of Britain’s oldest Classic. Now it has a Derby winner at the heart of the story as well.
Christmas Day heads to Doncaster on Saturday 12th September as one of the two horses fighting for favouritism, and for much of the build-up he has been the horse at the top of the market.
The price has eased towards 5/2 as support has arrived for Joseph O’Brien’s Enceladus, but there is still a simple reason why Christmas Day is so easy to make a case for. He has already done something none of his rivals have managed: win a British Classic.
His Derby success at Epsom in June changed the shape of his season. He was not the first Ballydoyle horse most people were talking about beforehand, but on very soft ground he travelled strongly behind stablemate Action, moved into the race at the right time and kept going to beat Maltese Cross by two and three-quarter lengths.
It gave Aidan O’Brien a record-extending 12th Derby and his 50th British Classic victory, and now three months later, Christmas Day is trying to add another major line to that record.
A Double That Has Not Been Completed Since 1987
Winning the Derby and St Leger in the same season used to form part of the traditional route for a top three-year-old, but modern racing has changed.
The best middle-distance colts now have a wide range of valuable Group 1 races available over a mile and a quarter or a mile and a half, both in Britain and overseas, so stretching out to almost a mile and seven furlongs at Doncaster is no longer an automatic move.
That is why the statistic around Christmas Day is so exciting. No Derby winner has gone on to win the St Leger in the same season since Reference Point in 1987.
There is also a neat family link. Christmas Day is a son of Camelot, the 2012 Derby winner who arrived at Doncaster attempting to complete the Triple Crown after also winning the 2,000 Guineas.
Camelot, with Joseph O’Brien in the saddle, was beaten by Encke in the St Leger. Fourteen years later, a son of Camelot is back at Doncaster trying to claim the Classic his sire missed, while Joseph is now training one of the main horses trying to stop him with Enceladus.
Christmas Day Has Not Needed To Win Every Time
The concern for anyone backing Christmas Day is obvious when looking at his last two starts. He has not won since Epsom, but that does not tell the full story.
At the Curragh in the Irish Derby, Christmas Day finished second to stablemate Benvenuto Cellini, beaten one and three-quarter lengths. Pierre Bonnard was only a neck behind Christmas Day in third, so the St Leger brings two of that Ballydoyle trio back together.
Christmas Day then went to York for the Great Voltigeur, one of the main traditional St Leger trials. He finished third behind Maltese Cross and Pierre Bonnard, but he was carrying a 5lb Group 1 penalty. Maltese Cross, who had won the Grand Prix de Paris after finishing second in the Derby, also carried the penalty and produced a very strong performance to win by two lengths.
Pierre Bonnard finished second without that extra weight, while Christmas Day was another two and a quarter lengths away in third.
On bare finishing positions, it looks like Christmas Day has slipped behind Pierre Bonnard. In St Leger terms, they meet at level weights on Saturday, and the extra distance can change the balance again.
Enceladus Has Made This a Proper Betting Contest
For a while, Christmas Day looked likely to start a fairly clear favourite, but Enceladus has been strongly backed and is now around 2/1 with several firms, putting him just ahead of Christmas Day with most bookmakers.
Joseph O’Brien’s colt has won all three of his races this year, progressing from a Cork maiden to the King George V Handicap at Royal Ascot and then the Group 3 Gordon Stakes at Goodwood.
He is the improving horse whose limit is not yet known against Christmas Day, the proven Group 1 horse with the Derby already on his record.
Pierre Bonnard also has to be taken seriously after finishing ahead of Christmas Day at York, so while the market may have looked like a one-horse story a few weeks ago, it is now a proper three-way contest at the top.
Aidan O’Brien’s St Leger Record Is Hard to Ignore
If Christmas Day needs any help from history, he could hardly be with a better trainer.
Aidan O’Brien has won the St Leger nine times and arrives in 2026 chasing a fourth straight success. Continuous won for Ballydoyle in 2023, Jan Brueghel followed in 2024, and Scandinavia made it three in a row last year.
Christmas Day is joined by Pierre Bonnard, Amelia Earhart and Action in O’Brien’s final team, giving the trainer several ways to approach the race tactically.
Action has made the running in important races before, including the Derby, so it would be no surprise if Ballydoyle wanted the St Leger to become a proper stamina test rather than a slow race followed by a sprint.
That could suit Christmas Day, whose strongest performances have come when he has been able to use his staying power.
Overall, he does not need to prove he is the quickest horse in the field over a short burst, but instead turn the St Leger into the kind of race that asks every runner to keep finding over the final half-mile.
The bigger threat is that Enceladus may improve again over the longer distance, or that Pierre Bonnard may confirm the York form now they meet at level weights.
If Christmas Day sees out the final furlong at Doncaster as strongly as he handled the closing stages at Epsom, the 250th St Leger could end with a piece of history that British racing has waited 39 years to see.
BETFRED
