The defeat of Camelot in the Ladbrokes St Leger at Doncaster on Saturday brought the curtain down on a brave attempt to secure a piece of history for horse and trainer alike. The Triple Crown of English Classics had not been achieved since Nijinsky, ridden by Lester Piggot and trained by Vincent O’Brien in 1970.
Few have attempted it since with two horses landing the 2000 Guineas and Derby double but declining the challenge of the third leg.  Oh So Sharp did complete the fillies’ version in 1985 but in a racehorse breeding world dominated by the value of stallions, it is the male line that carries the greater kudos.
In the US, the Triple Crown is the main line of narrative that keeps the sport alive as a national conversation.  11 horses have attempted to win the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes since Affirmed in 1977 while Secretariat who achieved the feat in 1973 is hailed as one of the greatest horse of all time.
Camelot is perhaps unfortunate that he has arrived in a year dominated by another once in a generation star Frankel and while the two might yet meet at Newmarket early next month it is thought unlikely.
His defeat, by a rapidly diminishing length and a half also ended the ambition of trainer Aidan O’Brien to become the first trainer in history to hold all five English Classics in the one season.
A crowd of 32,000 had packed Doncaster racecourse on Saturday and it was another chapter in the continuing fightback of racing in Britain to secure its place in the national sporting imagination.  Crowds at major meetings have been up throughout the year and Irish horses, trainers and jockeys play a huge part, as they have always done.  It is just a shame that the legend of Camelot the racehorse did not quite match up to the castle on this occasion.
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