St Leger day at Donny was missing a host of star names - but then the prime minister turned up

Suddenly, surprisingly and splendidly, the negative narrative of St Leger day was turned on its head. After days of angst about the people staying away, the story switched to being about the person who turned up.

Aidan O'Brien and Ryan Moore were at Leopardstown, as were James Doyle, Jim Crowley and Tom Marquand, who must have been particularly pleased to be in Ireland. William Buick, a triple St Leger winner, on this occasion went to Canada, as did his champion jockey predecessor, Oisin Murphy. On Doncaster's day in the sun, far too many major names were missing. On the plus side, Sir Keir Starmer turned up.

Not since Sir Winston Churchill watched Premonition's success in 1953 had a serving prime minister been on Town Moor for the world's oldest Classic. There was always a good chance his wife would be here, given Lady Starmer loves Flat racing and has family roots in Doncaster, yet Starmer spent Friday evening at the White House with Joe Biden and has a Sunday work appointment in Italy. The news he was on the train and heading north from London came as something of a shock, save for those involved in planning the visit.