Scandinavia leads home another classic 1-2-3 for Ballydoyle Scandinavia led home a 1-2-3 for trainer Aidan O’Brien as the star stayer justified odds of 4/11 in workmanlike fashion in the Comer Group International Irish St. Leger at the Curragh. The Justify colt was stretching his winning sequence to eight and recording his fifth success at Group 1 level, although he was made to work hard for victory. Queenstown set the pace in this 1m6f event and refused to yield as the hot favourite challenged in the final quarter mile. However, Scandinavia gradually wore down his rival and got on top in the final 100 yards to score by two lengths under Ryan Moore with Jan Brueghel staying on from off the pace a further three-quarters of a length away in third. O’Brien said, “He’s a great horse. He just has an unbelievable amount of stamina. He’s a big high cruiser and we were delighted to have Queenstown there today to keep going along. “He just goes along there, lazing along. He really only kicks in after a mile-and-six which is very unusual. He’s by Justify, he stays and stays and gallops. He’s a lovely horse. “He was trained for Ascot for the Gold Cup and then to do these other things. The ground is probably as soft as he wants it, he’s a very good mover as well. Ryan gave him a great ride.” When asked if the Cadran could be next he added, “Possible. When Ryan came in he said ‘what about the Cadran for the second horse, to give him a chance’. “Then maybe the third horse could go to Ascot for the two-mile race and then we could put him (Scandinavia) away for Ascot next year. “You could go to France, and the ground could be very bad for him. I don’t want to abuse him either because he’s a made Gold Cup horse. He floats on the fast ground. “Queenstown handles an ease well and so does the third horse. “He’s had a busy year, and I trained him hard for the Gold Cup. “It’ll be depending on what the lads want to do, but it’s just to give them all a chance. The others are good stayers as well.” On Jan Brueghel he added, “We thought he’d get very tired. He was sick enough and he was off for a good while. “He was just about ready to start today but we knew if he was going to go to Ascot he had to start today. “We had to give him a chance, if we had ridden him forward, he’d blow up and get very tired. Ronan just let him relax and he galloped home. “He does stay very well as well and he’s a classy horse who handles an ease in the ground. You’d have to be delighted with him.” Moore was completing a short-priced treble on the day and said, “I was always very happy with him and probably should have asked him for his effort a bit sooner. “He went asleep on me a little bit but he’s a high-class horse and stays very well. “He has a very good mind and a lovely long stride. He’s a serious stayer.” Additional reporting by Gary Carson
