Stoute back on the St Leger trail

14 April 2012

If Sir Michael Stoute approached batting like he approaches questions from journalists then the scorer for the Newmarket Trainers' XI would soon be sound asleep.

The cricket loving Barbadian mastered the art of skilful stonewalling long ago, and the deadest bat of all is reserved for reporters who quiz him about the fact that he has gone more than 30 years without winning the St Leger. "It's a source of frustration that I get asked every year if it's frustrating not to have won this race," he says.

The response is typical Stoute. Droll and flippant, it gives precisely nothing away and typifies the champion trainer's steadfast refusal to provide soundbites on request.

It's also a reply which masks the fact that Stoute would dearly love to land the final Classic of the season with Quiff or Maraahel this Saturday.

In theory, the Leger is the sort of race which should suit Stoute's patient, painstaking style of training down to the ground.

In practice, Stoute has fired 18 shots at the world's oldest Classic only to miss the bull's-eye every time.

Perhaps the eclipse of the mighty Shergar at 4-9 in 1981 should have warned Stoute that the Leger might not prove a happy hunting ground.

Hellenic and Saddlers' Hall went close for him in 1990 and 1991 respectively. Air Marshall also filled the runner-up spot behind Millenary in 2000, while Highest gave Stoute his fourth Leger second by chasing home Bollin Eric two years ago. "It hasn't gone our way, but I assure you all our Leger runners have been trying," joked Stoute.

That off-the-cuff comment was made well before Stoute's stable jockey Kieren Fallon was taken into custody amid allegations of race-fixing relating to internet betting exchanges last week.

And there is added irony in the fact that Saturday's race will be sponsored for the first time by Betfair, whose evidence played a key part in the dawn swoops which saw 16 people arrested last Wednesday.

Stoute, with the exception of the odd verbal prod when Fallon's riding has fallen below his usual high standards, keeps his own counsel about his relationship with the volatile Irishman.

But actions speak louder than words, and the fact that Stoute has stood four square behind Fallon through his career speaks volumes for the bond between the pair.

For his part, Fallon feels that Quiff 's runaway win in the Yorkshire Oaks last month was the ideal trial for the Leger.

"She lengthens rather than quickens and the soft ground at York definitely helped her," he said.

The progressive Goodwood winner Maraahel provides Stoute with a powerful second string at Doncaster, but market signals suggest Quiff is his main hope provided the ground has enough give in it. Fallon certainly seems to to fancy her chance: "I don't normally like seeing fillies taking on good colts, but when you have one this good you always have a chance," he added.

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Stoute back on the St Leger trail

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