Scandinavia Keeps Win Streak Going in Irish St. Leger

Scandinavia may or may not be suffering from the dreaded Ballydoyle bug but the very best invariably find a way to win even if they aren't at their best, and there was a strong hint of that as he ground out a workmanlike display to get the job done in the Irish St. Leger (G1). Earlier in the day, Aidan O'Brien had revealed his elite battalion has indeed been battling a low-grade infection, which went a long way to explaining an uncharacteristic midsummer lull for the stable. The horses had got off to a flyer in the Classics in the spring and thrived right through to Royal Ascot, but since then they had become more hit and miss. Through it all, Scandinavia has been a beacon of class and consistency. The Kentucky-bred son of Triple Crown winner Justify chinned Trawlerman (IRE) to claim a brave Gold Cup (G1) success at Ascot and then consigned the same rival to the retirement paddocks when he obliterated him and everything else in the Goodwood Cup (G1). Here, he wasn't nearly as impressive under Ryan Moore. It took him an age to wear down his pace-setting stablemate Queenstown (IRE) and, for a moment, Jan Brueghel (IRE), who had worked himself into a sweaty stew beforehand on his first start for three months, looked like he might finish with a flourish to get involved. However, Scandinavia eventually pulled 2 lengths clear of Queenstown, with Jan Brueghel just three-quarters of a length behind in third. He has now won eight on the spin, including five this year, to suggest his place in the conversation about O'Brien's best stayers isn't entirely misplaced, and he has the distinction of being a dual St. Leger hero following last year's triumph in the Doncaster Classic. "He's a great horse," said O'Brien of his eighth winner of this €500,000 showpiece, which is backed by Luke Comer's Comer Group International. "He has an unbelievable amount of stamina, a big, high-cruising stamina. Ryan said he really only kicks in after a mile and 6 (furlongs), which is very unusual, and the ground is probably as soft as he wants it because he's a very good mover." Paddy Power cut Scandinavia to as short as 4-7 (from 4-6) for the Long Distance Cup (G1) at Ascot, but O'Brien suggested he could be done for the year. Offering his thoughts on the first three home, he said: "You could go to France with Scandinavia (for the Cadran) and the ground could be very bad for him. He mightn't be finished but I don't want to abuse him, especially because he's a made Gold Cup horse—he floats on the fast ground. He has had a busy year, and I trained him hard for the Gold Cup. "Queenstown handles an ease well and so does Jan Brueghel. When Ryan came in, he said, 'What about the Cadran for the second horse (Queenstown) and maybe the third horse (Jan Brueghel) could go to Ascot for the 2-mile race'. And then we could put Scandinavia away for Ascot next year. So it will depend on what the lads want to do, but it's just to give them all a chance." Of the eye-catching run of Jan Brueghel, who won the 2024 St. Leger (G1) at Doncaster, he added: "He was sick enough, so he was off for a good while, and was just about ready to start. But we knew if he was going to get to Ascot that he had to start today, and obviously we had to give him a chance, so Ronan (Whelan) just let him relax and he galloped home." Moore was winning the race for a fifth time in 10 runnings. He probably always looked like getting there, but it was only from the furlong pole that his mount was able to assert his superiority over Queenstown and he blamed himself for the labored nature of the win. "I was always very happy with him and probably should have asked him for his effort a bit sooner," he suggested. "He went to sleep on me a little bit but he's a serious stayer." The same could be said of O'Brien and his enduring excellence. Despite some travails, he still departed the Curragh with two group 1 successes, and his sons Joseph and Donnacha farmed the other two, with the eldest of the siblings plundering a treble on the card. It would be a fine thing to be going as bad.