Horse power

IT WAS as funny as it was apt. The Wolf's World cartoon showed James Brennan at his desk, pen in hand, while a helpful assistant revealed the Kentucky Derby people were on the phone.

"They were wondering if...," she said.

What with Royal Ascot and now the St Leger, there's a sense that York would be in the mix if the famous American race ever found itself needing a new temporary home.

Following Knavesmire's odds-on win to host Royal Ascot, the fact it managed a double - and within a year of hosting Royalty - is all the more magical.

Mr Brennan said if it was for the good of racing, York Racecourse would volunteer again. "We are committed to horse racing and top-quality horse racing," he said.

"If, by hosting these itinerant meetings, we are facilitating the cause of racing it would be huge fun.

"If Longchamp wants to redevelop then we will take an Arc De Triomphe or a Breeders Cup and a Kentucky Derby!"

Following the fanfare of the summer's Royal event, York's victory in the race to hold the St Leger classic has firmly pitched it once more into the public spotlight.

York is a course racing people, and racing fans, have always loved. Now Royal Ascot has put Knavesmire high in the headlines.

If Royal Ascot was pageantry and high society, just transferred to the North, then the St Leger - which will be managed and run by York's staff - will give racecourse staff the chance to stamp their own mark on one of the sport's oldest events, while retaining the best of its Yorkshire traditions.

"What we are mindful of is that the St Leger is a Yorkshire tradition, but it also has an international reach," said Mr Brennan.

"As we hope we achieved with Ascot, we want to retain the core elements and traditions while transferring across some elements from our own course.

"There will be some differences. Doncaster, for example, doesn't have its course enclosure the same as ours - with crowds on both sides of the track."

Pencil it in your diaries. September 8 and 9.

A two-day St Leger Festival - compared with the usual four-day Doncaster event. It's a lot to cram in. And, continuing the Doncaster tradition, the first day will be for women.

"We will have a St Leger Ladies' Day," Mr Brennan said. "It is just a sensible thing for us to do. People in South Yorkshire are expecting a Ladies' Day and we are not going to disappoint."

It wasn't just the racecourse delighted about York's St Leger appointment. The move was also praised by sports minister Richard Caborn who said Knavesmire was the "ideal venue" to hold the one-off special.

The festival will offer £1.2 million in prize money and could also be a £1 million winning ticket for city bars, hotels and restaurants.

But protecting York's annual season of meetings is also a top priority. Some high-profile Knavesmire events were hit slightly by the Royal Ascot rush in the summer. This time, that's not on the cards.

Mr Brennan said: "Clearly, this is a question we have asked ourselves before going into this adventure of holding the St Leger. The Ebor Festival and the St Leger are both high-profile in racing and do well comparatively in geographic proximity. There is enough between the two to keep on top of both. We hope the St Leger will broaden our reach."

So what can we expect? Not Royal Ascot MkII, but two-days of classic racing in a traditional Yorkshire setting, which will give York Racecourse another shot-in-the-arm in terms of publicity.

"What Royal Ascot was always going to do for us and what the St Leger will do is generate interest for people who follow sport generally - when two or three years ago we wouldn't have had that," Mr Brennan said.

"We won't be doing anything hugely different and will continue to invest in the horses, prize money and customer care.

"It is a huge thrill for us to feel part of history. We did not ever think we would get two chances, never mind get them in consecutive years."

Updated: 08:54 Monday, December 19, 2005