The St. Leger Italiano is a Group 3 flat horse race in Italy open to thoroughbreds aged three years or older. It is run at Milan over a distance of 2,800 metres (about 1¾ miles), and it is scheduled to take place each year in October.
It is Italy's equivalent of the St. Leger Stakes, a famous race in England.
History St. Leger Italiano was established in the late 19th century, and it was originally restricted to three-year-olds.
The first winner to complete a Triple Crown (having previously won the Premio Parioli and the Derby Italiano) was Niccolo dell'Arca in 1941. The feat was subsequently achieved by Gladiolo in 1946 and Botticelli in 1954.
The present system of race grading was introduced in the early 1970s, and for a period St. Leger Italiano held Group 2 status. It was relegated to Group 3 level in 1988, and from this point, it was contested over 2,900 metres at Turin. For several years it was held in July.
The race was opened to older horses and rescheduled for the autumn in 1994. It was later downgraded to Listed level, and it began its current spell in Milan in 2002. It regained Group 3 status in 2010.
Records Most successful horse (3 wins): Noel – 1999, 2000, 2001
Leading jockey since 1988 (3 wins): Mirco Demuro – Maktub (2002), N'Oubliez Jamais (2006), Spanish Hidalgo (2007) Dario Vargiu - Parivash (2013), Atzeco (2021), Taany (2024)
Leading trainer since 1988 (4 wins): Hans Blume – Noel (1999, 2000, 2001), N'Oubliez Jamais (2006)
Winners since 1988 Year Winner Age Jockey Trainer Time 1988 Welsh Guide 3 Vittorio Panici Michael Jarvis 3:09.25 1989 Sierra Star 3 Vittorio Panici Michael Jarvis 3:06.60 1990 Parting Moment 3 Bruce Raymond Ian Balding 3:04.20 1991 Green Senor 3 Michel Planard Emilio Borromeo 3:10.00 1992 Jape 3 Alan Munro Paul Cole 3:11.00 1993 Pay Me Back 3 Sergio Dettori Gianfranco Verricelli 3:15.40 1994 Double Trigger 3 Jason Weaver Mark Johnston 3:20.80 1995 Assessor 6 Richard Hughes Richard Hannon Sr. 3:21.00 1996 Duke of Flite 3 Giovanni Forte R. Rossini 3:10.60 1997 Belsalazie 4 Frédéric Spanu Jacques Heloury 3:11.60 1998 Rondan 3 Mario Esposito Vittorio Caruso 3:06.00 1999 Noel 4 Massimiliano Tellini Hans Blume 3:14.60 2000 Noel 5 Jorge Horcajada Hans Blume 3:07.60 2001 Noel 6 Massimiliano Tellini Hans Blume 3:11.60 2002 Maktub 3 Mirco Demuro Bruno Grizzetti 3:39.20 2003 Liquido 4 L. Hammer-Hansen Horst Steinmetz 3:16.40 2004 Liquido 5 Edmondo Botti Horst Steinmetz 3:13.00 2005 Backbord 3 Andrasch Starke Andreas Schütz 3:06.70 2006 N'Oubliez Jamais 3 Mirco Demuro Hans Blume 3:10.40 2007 Spanish Hidalgo 3 Mirco Demuro John Dunlop 3:15.60 2008 no race 2009 Caudillo 6 Henk Grewe Dr Andreas Bolte 3:01.80 2010 Burma Gold 3 Jiri Palik Peter Schiergen 3:04.20 2011 Altano 5 Jozef Bojko Andreas Wöhler 2:53.60 2012 Donn Halling 4 Vaclav Janacek Vaclav Luka Jr. 3:07.00 2013 Parivash 4 Dario Vargiu Waldemar Hickst 3:07.70 2014 Rock Of Romance 4 Eduardo Pedroza Andreas Wohler 3:06.90 2015 Autor 5 Carlo Fiocchi Frantisek Holcak 3:08.70 2016 Dschingis Secret 3 Martin Seidl Markus Klug 3:01.20 2017 Trip To Rhodos 8 Vaclav Janacek Pavel Tuma 3:02.80 2018 O'Juke 3 Sergio Urru Lucia Lupinacci 3:01.10 2019 Pretending 6 Fabio Branca Alessandro Botti 3:19.90 2020 Sir Polski 3 Michael Cadeddu Henk Grewe 3:18.70 2021 Atzeco 3 Dario Vargiu Alduino Botti 3:16.10 2022 Sir Polski 5 Silvano Mulas Henk Grewe 3:24.60 2023 Roberto Escobarr 6 Marco Ghiani Michael Appleby 3:25.9 2024 Taany 4 Dario Vargiu Luciano Vitabile 3:27.102025Orion Queen4Antonio OraniMme Manon Scandella-Lacaille3:35.70 The 2008 running was cancelled because of a strike. The 2021 races took place at Capannelle.
Earlier winners 1892: Dardinello 1893: Festuca 1894: Sansonetto 1895: Oranzeb 1896: Goldoni 1897: Hira 1898: Brunello 1899: Elena 1900: Kikamba 1901: Silvana 1902: Euro 1903: Esquilino 1904: Eureka 1905: Onorio 1906: Plinio 1907: San Gallo 1908: Qui Vive 1909: Dedalo 1910: Wistaria 1911: Alcimedonte 1912: Valmy 1913: Arianna 1914: Prometeo 1915: Aristippo 1916: Kibwesi 1917: Alcione 1918: Burne Jones 1919: Delft 1920: Vodice 1921: Michelangelo 1922: Fiorello 1923: Giovanna Dupre
1924: Manistee 1925: Major 1926: Cranach 1927: Delfino 1928: Akenaton 1929: Ortello 1930: Ostiglia 1931: Ageratum 1932: Fenolo 1933: Crapom 1934: Grand Marnier 1935: Lub 1936: Tellurio 1937: El Greco 1938: Ursone 1939: Lafcadio 1940: Bellini 1941: Niccolo dell'Arca 1942: Scire 1943: Tokamura 1944: Macherio 1945: Peana 1946: Gladiolo 1947: Tenerani 1948: Trevisana 1949: Antonio Canale 1950: Tommaso Guidi 1951: Daumier 1952: Belfagor 1953: De Dreux 1954: Botticelli 1955: Derain
1956: Barbara Sirani 1957: Braque 1958: Tiepolo 1959: Feria 1960: Tiziano 1961: Proteo 1962: Bragozzo 1963: Tavernier 1964: Crivelli 1965: Ben Marshall 1966: Chio 1967: Carlos Primero 1968: Baccio Bandinelli 1969: Bacuco 1970: Alcamo 1971: Weimar 1972: Tierceron 1973: Veio 1974: Mister Henry 1975: Laomedonte 1976: Gallio 1977: Novigrad 1978: Xibury 1979: Quadrupler 1980: Lotar 1981: Solero 1982: Crusader Castle 1983: Celio Rufo 1984: Rough Pearl 1985: Fire of Life 1986: Comme l'Etoile 1987: Sergeyevich
See also List of Italian flat horse races
References Racing Post / irishracing.com / siegerlisten.com: , , , , , , , , , 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
galopp-sieger.de – St. Leger Italiano. horseracingintfed.com – International Federation of Horseracing Authorities – St. Leger Italiano (2017). pedigreequery.com – St. Leger Italiano – Milano San Siro.