When was the last Royal winner of a Classic?

Can Desert Hero end their long wait?

King Charles and Camilla cheer on Desert Hero

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Desert Hero bids to secure victory for the British Royal Family in the St Leger at Doncaster – but which horse was the last to carry their famous silks to Classic glory?

The Sea The Stars colt faces eight rivals in Saturday’s 15:35 and is one of the leading contenders after winning at Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood.

Bred by Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away last year, Desert Hero is bound to prove popular with punters and could end the Royals’ long wait to taste Classic success again.

That’s because it has been an incredible 46 years since Dunfermline claimed the St Leger spoils in the late Queen’s Silver Jubilee year of 1977.

Desert Hero

It would certainly be something for the pundits to talk about if Desert Hero ends the Royal drought with victory in the same year as King Charles III’s coronation.

There were fears that Charlie didn’t quite have the same level of enthusiasm for horses as his mother, although he seemed to be loving life when Desert Hero headed Valiant King in a thrilling renewal of the King George V Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.

The three-year-old then took his form to new levels when getting the better of Chesspiece in the Group 3 Gordon Stakes at Glorious Goodwood to punch his ticket for the St Leger.

A trip Down Under could be next on the agenda for Desert Hero because he holds an entry for the lucrative Melbourne Cup at Flemington on Tuesday, November 7.

*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change

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