DONCASTER – Outsider Encke foiled hot favorite Camelot's bid to become the first horse to win the English Triple Crown since 1970 when the undeerdog, ridden by Frenchman Mickael Barzalona for the Godolphin stable, won the St Leger Saturday. Camelot, trained in Ireland by Aidan O'Brien and ridden by son Joseph, won the 2,000 Guineas and Derby but could only finish second in the Leger at Doncaster, the longest of the English Classic races. Encke, trained by Mahmood Al Zarooni, kicked clear one furlong from home in the one mile six furlongs contest and held on as Camelot, could not reel in the leader. “In the Guineas he quickened and in the Derby he quickened, but he just stayed on here,” Aidan O'Brien told reporters. “He ran a great race but just got beat. It's disappointing for everybody but that's the way it is. That's racing. We expected him to win and if I thought they were going to go that steady I would have had a pacemaker in or two pacemakers. But that's my fault.” The last horse to win the Triple Crown (2,000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger) was the Vincent O'Brien-trained Nijinsky in 1970. Michelangelo was third in the final English Classic of the season. — Reuters
