'The rain is in his favour and he's in top order' - John Gosden and Aidan O'Brien on their St Leger stars

He began by finishing sixth in Scotland and he hopes to end it in Yorkshire with a 24th British Classic victory to take him into joint third in the all-time list.

Frankie Dettori's first ride in a British Classic was on N C Owen for Luca Cumani at the age of just 18, in a St Leger switched to Ayr in 1989.

His first win was on Balanchine in the Oaks in 1994 and a seventh St Leger success today in his final Classic before retirement would make it 24 overall, matching Jem Robinson and putting him behind only Lester Piggott (30) and Frank Buckle (27).

Dettori puts his trust in the Gosden stable, for whom he has already won the Leger on Shantou and Logician, although a late switch means he is on Arrest rather than former favourite Gregory.

The jockey has won the Chester Vase and Geoffrey Freer Stakes on the colt, of whom Thady Gosden said: "Arrest won very well at Newbury last time over a mile and five when he handled an easy surface well.

"The unscheduled rain earlier in the week will play to his strengths and the extra yardage should also be in his favour. We're very pleased with him and he took his race very well. He's in top order."

Kieran Shoemark takes Dettori's place on Gregory, who is reckoned better than the bare form of his front-running third in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York.

"He went a little quick early," John Gosden said. "There were three of them trying to make the lead in order to boss the race and they got in a bit of a scramble together early on. The winner came from 20 lengths out the back.

"He actually ran a really good race and when Frankie accepted the fact and put his hands down, he galloped out well to the line and after the line. He came out of it in very good order.

"He's got a great mind, he's a pretty laid-back character. I trained both the mother and the father, and he's inherited all their good traits and their mental attitude to racing. I think he'll enjoy the distance."

The yard also runs Middle Earth, who won at York under Oisin Murphy, and Thady Gosden said: "Middle Earth has progressed well this year, most recently when winning a competitive renewal of the Melrose Handicap at York.

"There has been a significant amount of rain since the entry was made and as he's such a good-actioned horse we are hopeful, rather than confident, he will handle the ground."

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Continuous leads Ballydoyle charge

Ryan Moore finally gets the chance to complete a St Leger hat-trick here, five years after his last ride in the race.

The usual clash with Irish Champions weekend means he has not been at Doncaster on this day since winning on Kew Gardens in 2018.

But the Classic is a week later this year so the former champion jockey is free to partner Continuous, on whom he won the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York last month.

"Everything has gone well for Continuous since York," said O'Brien. "He won on soft ground over in France last year, so he has form with a cut in the ground, and it was quick enough at York the last day so he seems quite versatile with regard to the ground.

"We were very surprised with how well he ran in the Dante, because he was just ready to start back that day. I remember Ryan telling me earlier on in the year that the Heart's Crys [Continuous sire] all got a mile and a half so we were looking forward to stepping him up in trip. We felt going into the Voltigeur that he would improve plenty from it, as he was coming back from a break, so we were delighted with him there.

"They went a very strong gallop there and his best furlong was his last one. He hit the line hard so we'd be very hopeful he will stay."

O'Brien has four runners in a race he has won six times since 2001, with Jim Crowley on Bahrain Trophy second Tower Of London, whose brother Capri triumphed under Moore in 2017.

"We've always liked him," O'Brien said. "That was a very good run at Newmarket last time and we always thought all along that he would get the St Leger trip too."

Tower Of London: "Ryan thought he was a bit unlucky at Newmarket"Credit: Patrick McCann

Sean Levey rides Alexandroupolis, who returned from a 144-day break to finish sixth at Leopardstown last month on just the third outing of his career.

O'Brien said: "We've thought from day one that he was a very classy horse, but he had a mishap in the spring and missed most of the year. He was just barely ready for a race at Leopardstown when he ran. He will improve plenty more from that."

Danny Tudhope is on Denmark, who has been placed in handicaps on his last two starts and is 4lb better off for the length and three-quarters he was beaten by Middle Earth in the Melrose at York.

"I don't think we have seen the best of Denmark yet," O'Brien said. "He was very green and babyish again last weekend – he was running everywhere. We're running him again because we're trying to make him grow up a little bit."

Marquand dreaming of 'extra special' victory on Desert Hero

Riding a Classic winner for a king would be quite something, even for a jockey who has achieved as much as Tom Marquand has.

He admits there will be something special about being on board Desert Hero, in a contest he won behind closed doors on Galileo Chrome three years ago.

"You look forward to a race like this no matter what, but it's got an extra special edge to it this year," Marquand said. "It's something you always dream of as a small child – but it all becomes irrelevant unless he wins.

"It's well within the realms of imagination because he's done everything we've asked of him. There's a small question mark in the trip but the way he's been hitting the line over a mile and a half you'd love to say he'll get it. But it's a Classic, there are nine runners and they all deserve to be in it."

Marquand has already won at Royal Ascot this year on Desert Hero and the combination followed up in the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood, catching Chesspiece in the last 100 yards.

"He's been remarkable this season," the jockey said. "The team has done a great job getting him relaxed. It doesn't look like he's hit the ceiling yet, it does beg the question of what might be left.

"I know the winning distance wasn't that far at Goodwood but I was really impressed with what he did that day. He's a tough horse but to go and run down a horse that stays strongly and wasn't slowing down showed how far he's come."

Crisfords hope Chesspiece can make winning move

It is quite a contrast: the owners are bidding for a record eighth St Leger but the trainers are aiming for their first Classic success.

Chesspiece carries the colours of Godolphin, 28 years after Classic Cliche gave the organisation its first win in a contest that it has taken with Nedawi, Mutafaweq, Rule Of Law, Mastery, Encke and Hurricane Lane since.

Simon Crisford was racing manager at the time of many of those triumphs but is now the joint trainer at Gainsborough stables in Newmarket with his son Ed and the combination are hoping to double their Group 1 tally after victory in last month's Prix Morny with Vandeek.

Chesspiece has improved his Racing Post Rating in every one of his six outings and won the Listed Glasgow Stakes at Hamilton in July before losing by a neck to Desert Hero in the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood.

Chesspiece wins the Glasgow Stakes at HamiltonCredit: John Grossick

“Chesspiece has been stepping up the ladder slowly but surely all year and goes into this in very good form," said Simon Crisford.

"The recent rain at Doncaster should help and we expect a strongly run mile and six furlongs to play to his strengths. He will have to improve again at this level but possesses all the attributes needed to do so."

Read these next:

2023 St Leger at Doncaster: the runners, the odds, the verdict 

Why this horse can win the St Leger at Doncaster on Saturday - plus 1-2-3 predictions 

St Leger day could go from poignant to historic if Desert Hero becomes the first royal winner of a Classic in 46 years 

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