The 2026 Irish St Leger takes place at the Curragh on Sunday afternoon with a 7-runner field chasing one of the biggest staying prizes of the Irish Flat season.
The Comer Group International Irish St Leger is due off at 4.35pm and is run over one mile and six furlongs. It is a Group 1 open to horses aged three and older, with total prize money of €500,000. The going was listed as good to yielding during the build-up to the meeting.
Unlike the St Leger at Doncaster, the Irish version is not restricted to three-year-olds. It was opened to older horses in 1983, a change that helped turn it into one of the main autumn targets for established stayers.
This year’s market, however, is dominated by one horse.
Irish St Leger 2026 Runners and Latest Odds
*Odds from Betfred correct at time of publication.
| Runner | Trainer | dds |
|---|---|---|
| Scandinavia | Aidan O’Brien | 1/3 |
| Jan Brueghel | Aidan O’Brien | 11/2 |
| Trustyourinstinct | Joseph O’Brien | 10/1 |
| Queenstown | Aidan O’Brien | 16/1 |
| Arabian Force | William Haggas | 50/1 |
| Tennessee Stud | Joseph O’Brien | 50/1 |
| Leinster | Joseph O’Brien | 66/1 |
Scandinavia
Everything starts with Scandinavia. Aidan O’Brien’s four-year-old has won his last seven races and arrives after beating Trawlerman in both the Ascot Gold Cup and the Goodwood Cup this summer.
His Goodwood win was his second in the race, having also taken the two-mile Group 1 as a three-year-old in 2025. Between those victories he won the St Leger at Doncaster, beating Rahiebb by a neck.
His official rating of 125 puts him clear of most of Sunday’s opposition, while the one-mile-six-furlong distance is already proven territory.
He is a very obvious favourite, although whether bettors want to take odds on is another matter.
Jan Brueghel
If there is a horse in the field with a record capable of attracting support against Scandinavia, Jan Brueghel has a fair case.
He won the 2024 St Leger at Doncaster and has six victories from ten career starts. This season began with victory over Mount Atlas at Chester before he finished second at Epsom and fourth behind Giavellotto in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot.
The concern is the gap since Ascot. He has been off for 85 days and is moving back up in distance, but an official rating of 120 makes him one of the most accomplished horses in the field.
Trustyourinstinct
Trustyourinstinct is one of the easiest runners to like from a course-form point of view.
The six-year-old has raced nine times at the Curragh and has never finished outside the first three, winning four of those starts. His most important recent success came over Sunday’s exact distance in the Group 2 Curragh Cup in July.
He is rated 113, so he needs to improve considerably to reach Scandinavia’s level, but we already know the course and distance suit him. At around 10/1, he is understandably among the main alternatives to the favourite.
Queenstown
Queenstown has perhaps the most interesting recent piece of Curragh form. After 300 days away from racing following an injury, the six-year-old returned in the Group 3 Irish St Leger Trial on 22nd August.
Rather than needing the run, he won by four and a half lengths from Kizlyar, over one mile and six furlongs at the Curragh, which gives him an obvious connection with Sunday’s contest.
The harder question is whether an official rating of 110 leaves him with too much improvement to find against Scandinavia. At a double-figure price, however, there will be bettors prepared to take that chance.
Arabian Force
Arabian Force is the second William Haggas runner and comes into the race after a string of placed efforts. He was second at Longchamp in April, third at Newbury in May and third at York over almost one mile and six furlongs in July.
The problem is that those performances leave him with something to find against the very best horses here, which explains odds around 50/1.
Leinster
Leinster is another with course-and-distance winning form, but an official rating of 104 leaves him with a large amount to find.
He was third in his latest run at the Curragh, but at around 66/1, he would be one of the bigger surprises if he were to win.
Tennessee Stud
Tennessee Stud is a four-year-old trained by Joseph O’Brien and despite a very mixed season he has produced performances better than his official mark might first suggest.
Even so, this is a substantial step up against a horse rated 125 and several proven Group performers.
Is It Simply Scandinavia Against the Field?
The market says it might be, but the race itself is a little more interesting than the odds suggest.
Scandinavia is comfortably the highest-rated horse and has won four Group 1 races during his current winning run, and he deserves to be favourite.
Behind him, though, there are several different cases to consider. Jan Brueghel is already a Classic winner. Queenstown won the recognised Curragh trial. Trustyourinstinct won the Curragh Cup over the same distance, while Dubai Honour brings years of top-level experience.
Six of the seven runners are trained by either Aidan O’Brien or Joseph O’Brien, which gives Sunday’s race an unusual shape.
The most likely result is plainly a Scandinavia victory, but the more interesting part of the Irish St Leger may be deciding which of the other six runners can get close enough to make the favourite work for it.
BETFRED
