There is Racing royalty, and there is Royalty royalty, and the two worlds collide again in a fascinating Classic – first run 247 years ago – in South Yorkshire this weekend.
Fears over the monarchical interest and overall engagement in the racing operation, so dearly loved by Queen Elizabeth II and her mother before her, taking a serious decline have been well managed and significantly tempered over the past 12 months and, in what would provide a massive boost to our sport's important relationship with the family, thoughts now turn to the instantly recognisable purple, red and gold braided silks of The King and Queen being carried to victory in Saturday’s Betfred St Leger Stakes.
Forty-six years since Dunfermline, a homebred filly by Royal Palace who won the Oaks en route to Town Moor in 1977, became the most recent Classic winner for the Royals, it is the William Haggas-trained Desert Hero, also bred by the late Queen Elizabeth II, on whom hopes are pinned at Doncaster.
And without quite reaching fever-pitch, those hopes appear to have heightened in recent weeks, the chestnut son of the great Sea The Stars reportedly flourishing in his homework since making the grade in the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood –and doing so in pleasingly determined fashion.
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Getting up in the final 200 yards to win by a neck on the Downs was a fairly cosy success in relation to his eye-of-the-needle job in the dying strides of the King George V Stakes at the Royal meeting at Ascot, but being able to ‘win ugly’ is certainly no bad thing in a Leger.
It’s not long since The King was in God’s Own Country on a visit to the town of Pickering in the mid-June sunshine. He arrived at the station in a train carriage pulled by the Flying Scotsman and His Majesty and The Queen – both of whom are expected to be in attendance this weekend – may have a well-known Flying Italian to worry about when it comes to their Desert Hero emerging in front.
Demob-happy Dettori seeking one last high
The Royal runner winning the St Leger would be massive but 2023 has been the tale of Frankie’s farewell and – barring a U-turn of epic proportions come Champions Day next month – the evergreen 52-year-old, seeking a sixth Leger, has one final shot at ticking his total British Classic tally from 23 to 24 on board the strapping son of Frankel, Arrest.
There's no question that announcing his impending retirement late last year has unlocked a new kind of freedom in Dettori.
One of the most confident and naturally gifted jockeys ever to grace the game can't be an easy opponent to face up to; one of the most confident and naturally gifted jockeys ever to grace the game with an attitude bordering on demob-happy has been almost unplayable at times.
Winning the Guineas on Chaldean at Newmarket set the tone back in the spring and, after strolling into Epsom, posing for a few photos underneath a gigantic, freshly painted mural of himself atop Golden Horn on the grandstand wall, promptly rode like he owned the place in winning the Coronation Cup and Oaks on the Friday afternoon.
This year's Derby may feel like the one that got away in some respects, Arrest palpably failing to cope with the quick ground and the contours of the course after being sent off the punters’ choice. He was feeling the ground again at Ascot in June but, having got back on the winning trail on an easy surface at Newbury last month, the stars appear to have aligned.
But has Dettori definitely picked the right one here, having been jocked up on Clarehaven stablemate Gregory since the start of the week before appearing alongside Arrest's name when the final declarations filtered through on Thursday morning?
Dettori seems to have a little unfinished business on both of the pair. The Epsom flop on Arrest and the York reverse on the odds-on Gregory can't have sat too well with him, particularly after getting the fractions so wrong on the latter in the Great Voltigeur.
In stark contrast to a difficult period last year which featured the famous Dettori “sabbatical” following a troubled Royal Ascot, Gosden senior was quick to leap to his main man’s defence after an apparent misjudgement of early pace handed an advantage to his rivals on the Knavesmire.
Has he chosen the right one?
Gregory, owned by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani under the immensely wealthy Emir of Qatar’s Wathnan Racing banner, had done nothing wrong in three starts prior to York, where despite racing inefficiently, some even argued he had the perfect prep having encountered quick ground for the first time and shouldered a 3lb penalty for winning the Queen’s Vase over the Leger’s mile and three-quarter distance in June.
Timeform can't split them – both rated 116 – other than the 'p' for likelihood of further improvement assigned to Gregory. But rain in the build-up has given connections of both horses something of a headache and Arrest is ultimately the chosen one; the beaten favourite in Frankie's final Derby now widely expected to go off favourite in Frankie's final Leger.
Win, lose or draw at Doncaster, there will be no spell on the naughty step for the jockey this time around, and you can rest assured he won't be making any basic tactical errors. Minimising mistakes is priority number one for any rider, and Dettori has unquestionably mastered it down the years. On the biggest days, and in the biggest races, above all others.
As well as Gregory, the Middle East country of Qatar is also represented by Roaring Lion colt Middle Earth, supplemented for the race at a cost of £50,000 – small beer to owner Sheikh Hamad Bin Abdullah Bin Khalifa Al Thani (Qatar Racing Limited), son of a former Qatari prime minister and first cousin of Wathnan Racing's head honcho.
There's also the small matter of the Godolphin runner Chesspiece, behind Desert Hero at Goodwood yet anything but shamed in defeat. He lines up for training team Simon and Ed Crisford in the royal blue of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and Dettori's old boss.
And then we have the Irish heavyweights of the all-conquering Coolmore operation and trainer Aidan O’Brien, whose march towards domination of the British and Irish Classic scene since he started out at Ballydoyle in '96 has seemed incessant, ceaseless and, well... rather Continuous.
Voltigeur winner Continuous clearly merits massive respect, along with Desert Hero, Chesspiece and Gregory – the trio owned by various heads of state – but perhaps Arrest's pronounced knee-action and fully anticipated staying power will help tip the balance in Frankie's favour one final time in the final Classic of a memorable swansong season.
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