Durable Vinnie Roe will take on eight rival in is bid for an impressive fifth straight victory in the Irish Field St. Leger (Ire-I) at the Curragh on Saturday. The Dermot Weld trainee appears primed for yet another defense of this St. Leger title after a pleasing work earlier in the week.
Vinnie Roe has won one of three starts this year, and was most recently third in the listed Ballyroan Stakes. Regular rider Pat Smullen will be aboard.
Among those attempting to dethrone the 7-year-old horse are Yeats and Shalapour. Yeats, a 4-year-old colt by Sadler's Wells, won the group I Vodafone Coronation Cup in June. He as been lightly raced, having made only six career starts. He has won four, and has been out of the money only once.
Shalapour is the lone 3-year-old in the field, and represents the historic breeding program of the Aga Khan. Several generations of this colt's family have worn the emerald green silks with red epaulets on the shoulders, including his sire, Darshaan, and his dam, Shalama. Shalapour most recently was third in the listed Ballyroan Stakes behind Chelsea Rose and Vinnie Roe. Christophe Soumillon will ride.
Other entrants include Yorkshire Cup (Eng-II) winner Franklins Gardens, Gamut, who won the Princess of Wales's Stakes (Eng-II) by eight lengths earlier this year, The Whistling Teal, Collier Hill, Mkuzi, and Liss Ard.