Birch well equipped to run a big race in Leger

LET’S talk St Leger. I appreciate that September is a long way away, but the final Classic is always a great race to get involved with ante-post as even this far in advance you get a hunch as to who will and who won’t rock up at Doncaster.

White Birch will, I’m sure of that. I’m not so convinced about the two ahead of him in the market, Derby principals Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel.

Personally, I reckon there’s more chance of seeing Kyle Minogue at Doncaster than the Derby winner. You bet he would be heading there if the revered Triple Crown were on the line, but that ship has sailed. And if he’s as good as they say – and who’s to argue after the way he won last weekend – then the St Leger will be well down his pecking order.

King Of Steel could be a different matter. Roger Varian’s Kingston Hill went one better at Doncaster after his Derby second and his dam won beyond the St Leger trip, so you can see him staying okay. I guess what he does between now and then will determine whether he is targeted at loftier heights come the autumn, and that’s if they get a clear run with him. Horses of his brutish physique can be prone to the odd niggle here or there, and that spells danger for an ante-post proposition.

White Birch has the St Leger written all over him. By all accounts it will be the Irish Derby next and, whereas there’s already talk of the front two from Epsom exploring shorter distances later in their campaigns, that won’t be the case with this chap.

Not that he’s a slow boat – far from it. It was not a lack of tactical speed that saw him stone-cold last for much of the Derby, but merely a consequence of his low draw. It was some effort to finish where he did from where he was.

Talk about a perfect profile for Doncaster. He’s already shown the class, has the stamina, and now that all-important Classic connection following his exploits at the weekend. Derby form, whether it be from Epsom or the Curragh, is always influential come September. No fewer than 12 of the last 21 St Leger winners had contested a European Derby of some description.

Others will emerge from the shadows, as did Eldar Eldarov 12 months ago, but White Birch is where my money is going and right now it is.

While odds of 7-1 might not look mind-blowing for a race three months away, I see worse 7-1 chances running every day of the week.