1. St Leger Winners By Year
2. St Leger Winners By Yearly
3. St Leger Winners By Yearbook

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Sodium (1963–1983) was an Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbredracehorse and sire best known for winning the classicSt Leger Stakes in 1966. After running well without winning in 1965 he improved to become one of the best European colts of his generation in 1966 when he developed a rivalry with Charlottown. Sodium finished fourth behind Charlottown in The Derby but reversed the form to win both the Irish Derby and St Leger. He failed to reproduce his best form as a four-year-old and was retired to stud, where he had little success as a sire of winners in France and Japan.

Background[edit]

Sodium was a bay horse bred by the Kilcarn Stud near Navan in County Meath, Ireland. He was from the first crop of foals sired by Psidium the 66/1 winner of the 1961 Epsom Derby. Sodium's dam Gambade showed no ability as a racehorse, but came from a successful family, being a full sister to the 1953 Oaks winner Ambiguity.^[1] As a yearling Sodium was offered for sale and bought for 3,500 guineas^[2] by the veteran British trainer George Todd on behalf the Indian textile importer Radha Sigtia.^[3] Todd trained the colt at Manton in Wiltshire.

Racing career[edit]

1965: two-year-old season[edit]

Sodium ran four times as a two-year-old in 1965 but failed to win a race. He showed some promise racing over one mile in autumn, finishing second to the filly Soft Angels in the Royal Lodge Stakes at Ascot Racecourse and fourth to Pretendre in the Observer Gold Cup at Doncaster.

1966: three-year-old season[edit]

On his first appearance as a three-year-old, Sodium was moved up in distance and finished third to Right Noble in the White Rose Stakes over one and a half miles at Ascot in April. He then recorded his first victory when winning the Derby Trial Stakes at Brighton Racecourse from Crisp and Even.

In the Derby at Epsom Downs Racecourse Sodium was expected to run well by his trainer and started at odds of 13/1 in a field of twenty-five runners. Ridden by the Liverpool-born jockey Frankie Durr, the colt looked to be travelling strongly two furlongs from the finish but weakened in the closing stages and finished fourth, beaten a total of seven lengths behind Charlottown, Pretendre and Black Prince. His disappointing finish was attributed by some to his becoming highly agitated ('he worked himself into a lather')^[4] in the paddock before the race. Sodium met Charlottown for the second time in the Irish Derby at the Curragh. Starting at odds of 9/1 he took the lead from Paveh early in the straight and held the late challenge of Charlottown to win by a length.^[3] Two weeks later, Sodium started 6/4 favourite for Britain's most prestigious all-aged race the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot. He finished second of the five runners, beaten half a length by the four-year-old filly Aunt Edith.^[5]

Sodium prepared for a run in the St Leger Stakes by running in a highly anticipated^[4] race for the thirteen furlong Oxfordshire Stakes at Newbury Racecourse on 13 August. He ran very poorly, and finished in third place, thirteen lengths behind Charlottown.^[6] A subsequent veterinary examination revealed that the colt had been suffering from a kidney ail←ment.^[2] Sodium and Charlottown met or the fourth time in just over three months in the St Leger on 7 September. The Derby winner was favoured in the betting, with Sodium starting at odds of 7/1. Durr restrained the Irish Derby winner in the early stages as Black Prince led the field of nine runners. Charlottown took the lead in the straight, but Sodium produced a strong late run to catch his rival in the final strides to win by a head.^[7] It was a first British classic win both for Durr and for George Todd, who had been training racehorses for thirty-eight years.

1967: four-year-old season[edit]

Sodium stayed in training, but failed to win in six races which included the Coronation Cup (sixth behind Charlottown), the Hardwicke Stakes (second to Salvo).

Assessment[edit]

In their book A Century of Champions, John Randall and Tony Morris rated Sodium an 'average' St Leger winner.^[8] The independent Timeform organisation rated Sodium on 128, one pound ahead of Charlottown,^[2] but the Derby winner was preferred in the voting for British Horse of the Year by 176 votes to 174.^[9]

Stud record[edit]

At the end of his racing career, Sodium, was sold for approximately £100,000 and was exported to stand as a breeding stallion in France. The best of his progeny was Virunga (foaled 1970) a filly who won the Prix de Malleret and finished second in the Yorkshire Oaks. At stud Virunga produced several good winners including Vin de France Prix Jacques le Marois and Vacarme Mill Reef Stakes. Sodium was sold again in 1972 and was sent to Japan, where he had little success before his death in 1983.^[10]

Pedigree[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^ab'Thoroughbred Bloodlines - Hilarity - Family 1-p'. Bloodlines.net. Retrieved 2013-05-21.
2. ^ ^abcMortimer, Roger; Onslow, Richard; Willett, Peter (1978). Biographical Encyclopedia of British Flat Racing. Macdonald and Jane's. ISBN0-354-08536-0.
3. ^ ^ab'Irish colt Sodium wins Sweeps Derby'. Miami News. 3 July 1966. Retrieved 2011-12-31.
4. ^ ^ab'Sodium should win this duel'. Evening Times. 12 August 1966. p. 28. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
5. ^'Aunt Edith wins'. Miami News. 17 July 1966. Retrieved 2012-06-16.
6. ^Tony Morris (2011-10-01). 'Consistent, honest colt who put Lewes back on the Classic map'. Thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2011-12-29.
7. ^'Sodium captures St Leger test'. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 8 September 1966. p. 33. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
8. ^Morris, Tony; Randall, John (1999). A Century of Champions. Portway Press. ISBN1-901570-15-0.
9. ^'Charlottown gets vote'. Straits Times. 24 November 1966. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
10. ^Tony Morris (16 December 2003). 'World Of Breeding: Celebre proving his worth again with impressive Enchantee; pedigree assessment'. Racing Post. Retrieved 2013-05-22.
11. ^'Sodium pedigree'. equineline.com. 2012-05-08. Retrieved 2013-05-21.

Much like the St Leger Stakes at Doncaster, the Irish St Leger is the final classic of the season and takes place at the Curragh in September on the Sunday of the Irish Champions Weekend. Unlike the English St Leger, this one is open to all runners aged three and older and as such has seen numerous repeat winners over the years.

First run in 1915, the Irish St Leger is half a furlong shorter than the English equivalent at one mile six furlongs but both have seen some of the best stayers in the business take the spoils. This race also completes the Irish Triple Crown after the Irish 2000 Guineas and Irish Derby, though no horse has completed the treble since Windsor Slipper in 1942.

Next Race: TBD

The next renewal of this race has not been scheduled yet. We will update this once the schedule has been released for next season. The race info, trends and tips shown below will be updated for the next renewal once the final declarations have been made.

Last Run: 13th September 2020

• Winner: Search For A Song
• SP: 7/1
• Trainer: Dermot Weld
• Jockey: Oisin Orr

Race Info

This Group 1 event sees the stayers tackle the 1m6f trip in a race offering total prize money of €400,000. The ground at the track is currently described as good to yielding.

Irish St. Leger Betting Tips

Note: The following tips are from 2020. Tips for the next renewal will be added once the final declarations have been made.

St Leger Winners By Year

Unlike the English version of the race, which is restricted to the Classic generation only, the Irish St Leger is open to all runners aged three years and older.

Training legend Vincent O’Brien leads the way in the all-time trainers list for this contest with a total of nine wins. Namesake Aidan O’Brien might catch him yet though, with the master of Ballydoyle currently sitting on six successes. Aidan saddles the filly Passion and last season’s Irish Derby champ Sovereign this year.

This hasn’t been a particularly happy hunting ground for supporters of the market leader of late. Three winners in the past 10 years isn’t too bad a strike rate, but still handed jolly backers a level stakes loss of £3.35.

Twilight Payment – 5/2

Currently just about shading favouritism, in what is a very tight renewal this year, is the Joseph O’Brien runner, Twilight Payment. Formerly with Jim Bolger, this son of Teofilo will be making his fourth start in this race, and having recorded, sixth, fourth and seventh placed finishes in his three previous attempts, connections will clearly be hoping for better this time around.

Any hope of a more prominent finish is based upon the horse having improved following his switch to the O’Brien operation in July 2019. Not at his current yard for all that long prior to last year’s seventh placed finish, the evidence of this season’s best efforts do suggest that he may be in the form of his life at six years of age. A good winner of the Group 2 Vintage Crop stakes in June, he was then even better when slamming the field in the Curragh Cup last time out.

Significantly, each of those contests came over this very course and distance, so he has shown that he can do it around here. Whilst he steps up from Group 2 to Group 1 level, the winning margin was a yawning eight lengths in that Curragh Cup event, suggesting he may well be up to the task.

Sovereign – 5/2

One of the major threats to the Joseph O’Brien runner comes from the yard of his father, as it is the Aidan O’Brien-trained Sovereign who heads the field on ratings and is the selection of Ryan Moore.

It’s not too hard to see why Moore has opted to ride this Galileo colt rather than the talented filly Passion, as regardless of whether or not he stole the race from the front, it still takes a horse of significant class to win the Irish Derby by six lengths. Sovereign was predictably no match for Enable last time out at Ascot, but it his first run of the campaign over this course and distance which really catches the eye with regard to this race.

He does have three lengths to find with Twilight Payment on that effort, but the bare form of the result doesn’t really tell the whole story. Getting himself very worked up beforehand, and becoming detached during the race itself, the bird had flown by the time he loomed up on the bridle a furlong from home However, he did still finish off his race nicely under very considerate handling, suggesting that landing a big prize at this trip may be within his capabilities. It would certainly be a surprise were he not to be capable of better, granted a more usual build up and passage throughout the race, and he likely won’t be far away.

Search For A Song – 11/2

There have been a number of multiple winners of this race over the years, with 2015 and 2017 champ Order Of St George being the most recent dual hero. Bidding to join the club this year is the defending champion, Search For A Song.

Hailing from the yard of expert trainer Dermot Weld, this Galileo filly is pretty lightly raced for a four year old and will be making only her ninth career start here. The pick of those eight previous performances undoubtedly came in this event last season, when doing it well from the front to see off the likes of former English St Leger winner, Kew Gardens and Melbourne Gold Cup champ, Cross Counter. Fast forward to the current campaign and she seemed badly in need of the run when only sixth over an inadequate 1m2½f first time out, but her effort in the Tattersalls Gold Cup last time out was much more like it.

The 1m2f trip was again on the short side that day, but she was a big eye-catcher in doing all her best work late to finish a four and a half length third place to Magical. That was a most encouraging effort ahead of what is likely to be her major target of the season and she can’t be discounted. Whilst she won’t be in receipt of the three year olds allowance this year, she does still receive the three pound fillies’ and mares’ concession which, once factored in, makes her the one to beat on ratings.

Irish St. Leger Winners

About the Irish St Leger

The five English Classics have been the staple of the flat racing world for hundreds of years and their success has inevitably led to a string of similar races cropping all over the world. The Irish racing season has its own versions of the five British Classics, including the Irish St. Leger. Now held at the Curragh as part of Longines Irish Champions Weekend, this Group 1 has retained its prestige over the years and is an event that racing fans always look forward to.

SIMILARITIES & DIFFERENCES

St Leger Winners By Yearly

The Irish St. Leger is very similar to its equivalent race run at Doncaster. It too takes place every year in September, is run over a distance of 1 mile and 6 furlongs (14 furlongs) and completes the (Irish) Triple Crown. It is not an exact copy though, with the Curragh version open to horses older than three-year-olds since 1983 whilst geldings are also permitted to compete. For grammatical pedants, it’s also worth pointing out that the Irish version of the race has its name spelt with full stop for the abbreviation St.

Moving back to the more serious business of racing, those looking through the stats for a potential Irish St. Leger winner will find that the important disparities between the races at the Curragh and Doncaster paint a very different picture when it comes to the trends. The most obvious is that older horses have a decent record in the Irish St. Leger. Although three-year-olds including Flag Of Honour, Order Of St George and Vinnie Row have all won the race, horses aged four and older have had the better of it.

The other thing that Order Of St George and Vinne Row have in common is that they are both multiple winners of the Irish St. Leger. Vinnie Row won the race for the Dermot Weld/Pat Smullen combination four years in a row from 2001 whilst Order Of St George won in both 2015 and 2017. Each of those horses had further success in some of the biggest stayers’ races on the flat but of course repeat success in the English St Leger is impossible.

MULTIPLE IRISH ST. LEGER WINNERS: 1983 – 2019

Vinnie Row and Order Of St George were stayers of the highest ability so it is no surprise that, in many ways, they set the tone for the template of an Irish St. Leger winner. They were found towards the top of the betting market, had previous Group 1 success and had proven their stamina over staying trips at courses other than the Curragh. Although longer odds winners are not exactly rare, it does pay to favour the highest class stayers in the field.

A GENUINELY TOP CLASS STAYING RACE

St Leger Winners By Yearbook

The history of the Irish St. Leger begins in 1915 when it was first held. In those early days the race was restricted to three-year-olds just like the English equivalent and regularly attracted horses who competed at Doncaster to the field including Royal Lancer who won both races in 1922.

Royal Lancer’s achievement was surpassed just 12 years later by Museum who followed up wins in the Irish 2000 Guineas and the Irish Derby by winning the Irish St. Leger and therefore completing the Irish Triple Crown. The only other horse to achieve that feat is Windsor Slipper in 1942. The increasingly specialised nature of long distance flat racing makes it highly unlikely that any horse will join Museum and Windsor Slipper as Irish Triple Crown winners but the Irish St. Leger remains an incredibly important race since it was opened up to older horses in 1983.

The chance for repeat winners of the Irish St. Leger allows the race to stand out from the other Classics in Ireland and England and has helped it to produce some genuine legends over the years. As well as Vinnie Roe and Order Of St George, these legends include Vintage Crop who won in 1993 and 1994 before becoming the first European-trained horse to win the Melbourne Cup at Flemington Racecourse.

Many of the leading long distance horses on the flat don’t reach the peak of their powers until later on in their careers. Several have therefore won the Irish St. Leger after performing well in other massive staying races including the Ascot Gold Cup and the British Champions Long Distance Cup and even in some National Hunt races, as was the case with 2017 winner Wicklow Brave.

Other Races of Note at Curragh