19 go forward for betfair.com ST LEGER

A total of 19 hopefuls remain on course for the 2004 betfair.com St Leger, at Doncaster on Saturday, September 11, it is announced yesterday, Tuesday, August 24. Click here for Entries..

Godolphin?s Rule Of Law and Quiff, victorious in the Great Voltigeur Stakes and Yorkshire Oaks respectively at York last week, head the 19 acceptors.

Rule Of Law had earlier finished runner-up to North Light in the Epsom Derby and fourth to Grey Swallow in the Irish equivalent at the Curragh. In the betfair.com St Leger he is set to face the John Dunlop-trained Let The Lion Roar for the fifth time this season. Each time the duo have met this season, Rule Of Law has prevailed. In both the Dante Stakes at York and Epsom Derby, the pair finished second and third respectively behind North Light while they occupied fourth and fifth place in the Irish Derby. Last time out in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York, Rule Of Law prevailed by two and a half lengths from Let The Lion Roar.

Rule Of Law is one of two remaining entries from Godolphin, the Maktoum family?s racing entity which has won this event on three occasions courtesy of Classic Cliche in 1995, Nedawi three years later and Mutafaweq in 1999. The other Godolphin possible is Into The Dark, victorious on his two starts to date in a maiden at Doncaster in June and rated handicap at Newmarket the following month.

Quiff is still relatively unexposed, with her Yorkshire Oaks triumph coming on only her fourth career start. Her trainer Sir Michael Stoute has yet to add the betfair.com St Leger to his illustrious CV but looks to have an excellent chance to change that in 2004 as he could also be represented by Maraahel, who created a very favourable impression when landing the Group Three Gordon Stakes at Goodwood last month.

Irish handler Aidan O?Brien has landed the betfair.com St Leger for two of the past three years with Milan (2001) and Brian Boru (2003). This time around the master of Ballydoyle still has nine contenders engaged including Go For Gold, third behind Rule Of Law and Let The Lion Roar in the Great Voltigeur Stakes, Irish Derby third Tycoon and Two Miles West, a son of the 1992 betfair.com St Leger heroine User Friendly and runner-up in this season?s Queen?s Vase at Royal Ascot.

t looks as if the 2004 betfair.com St Leger will feature a representative from eastern Europe with Darsalam still holding an entry. The Desert King colt, a half-brother to the 1994 St Leger hero Moonax, has fared very well for trainer Arslangirey Shavuyev in the Czech Republic this season and won the Czech Derby in June to follow up on his success in the Freudenau Derby at Vienna, Austria, in May.

Other significant contenders include Percussionist, victorious in the Lingfield Derby Trial and fourth in the Epsom Derby this season in the colours of the late Robert Sangster and the Mick Quinlan-trained Frank Sonata, who entered the reckoning for the betfair.com St Leger with a victory in the Listed July Trophy at Haydock last month. The next acceptance stage for the betfair.com St Leger is at the five-day stage on Monday, September 6, when there is also a final chance for horses to be supplemented at a cost of #25,000.