The 2026 St Leger Stakes is set to be a very special occasion, as this year marks the 250th anniversary since the historic event first took place at Doncaster in 1776.
One of the Flat season’s biggest races just grows that little bit more in prestige, making the Classic an even more desirable prize for those competing.
Although the entry list for the September race is yet to be confirmed, it has not stopped discourse about potential candidates and who are the ones to watch. And a name those scanning racecards will have an eye on is Aidan O’Brien.
After making it three successive St Leger wins in 2025, the Irishman will be widely backed this September, especially with free bets Ireland offers available. Right now, his biggest candidate for success is seemingly three-year-old horse Christmas Day, who is looking to build on an impressive 2026.
Christmas Day to extend O’Brien’s St Leger streak?
After an impressive win at Leopardstown and a third place finish in the Dubai Dante Stakes in May, O’Brien sent his horse straight to the Epsom Derby. And Christmas Day repaid that faith, finishing two-and-three-quarter lengths ahead of Maltese Cross.
Both the win at Epsom and a second place finish at the Curragh in the Irish Derby are good indicators that the colt is comfortable over a mile and a half. But St Leger adds two furlongs to that distance, so the Classic will test his stamina more than any race he has taken part in so far.
O’Brien will be well aware of this, but will be using August to size Christmas Day up and judge whether the horse is the one who might make it four victories at Doncaster in as many years. The answer to that question is likely only days away, with O’Brien entering his horse for the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York.
Why the Great Voltigeur Stakes could shape Christmas Day’s St Leger fortunes
Building up to St Leger, there is arguably no better yardstick than the result in York in mid-August. Fifteen horses have successfully completed the Great Voltigeur-St Leger double, including O’Brien’s horse Continuous, who achieved the feat in 2023 and kicked off the Irishman’s hot streak in the Doncaster Classic.
Currently, Christmas Day is 7/2 to win at York, which puts him among the top two. Only Maltese Cross has been priced at shorter odds of 5/2, following three wins and one second place finish in four runs throughout 2026.
However, that second place came at the hands of Christmas Day at Epsom, a race similar in distance to the Great Voltigeur Stakes, so O’Brien will be optimistic his horse can get the better of William Haggas’s runner. If the same result comes around in August, that will give the trainer confidence that he can make his mark in South Yorkshire in September.
