Saffie Osborne makes history with St Leger win on Highwayman
Saffie Osborne became the first woman to win one of British Flat racing's five Classics when Highwayman won the St Leger at Doncaster on Saturday 12 September.
The 11-1 chance beat stablemate Enceladus by two-and-a-half lengths. The result gave trainer Joseph O'Brien first and second in the 250th running of the world's oldest Classic Flat race, BBC Sport reported.
Osborne picked up the spare ride on Highwayman in the week leading into the race, Yahoo Sport reported. The mount was confirmed for Saturday at Doncaster, Thoroughbred Daily News reported. A spare ride means a jockey is booked when a horse needs a new partner. It happens often. It rarely ends like this.
The St Leger is the fifth and final Classic of the British Flat season. A Classic is one of five established top-level Flat races for the generation. The other four are the 1,000 Guineas, the 2,000 Guineas, the Oaks and the Derby. No female jockey had won any of them before Saturday.
That record had stood for a long time. The Classics stretch back more than two centuries. The St Leger itself dates to 1776. It is a long, testing race that asks a horse to stay as well as gallop, and it demands a patient ride.
An 11-1 price marked Highwayman out as an outsider. In betting terms, it meant the market gave him less chance than the leading fancies. Two-and-a-half lengths is a clear margin. It is not a short-head or a photo-finish. It is the distance of more than two horses, stretched out on the track.
O'Brien's one-two underlined the strength of his hand. Highwayman finished first. Enceladus finished second. Both horses are trained in the same yard, by the same man, but they ran for different owners and were ridden by different jockeys.
What makes this stand out is the simplicity of it. One ride. One long straight at Doncaster. One clear verdict.
For fans, this means a first. Flat racing has had successful female riders in handicaps (races where better horses carry more weight), in Group races and at Royal Ascot and other big festivals. The Classics were the gap. Osborne has now closed one of them.
The result book will show Highwayman first and Enceladus second for O'Brien. The history book will show Osborne's name alone.
