Sixties Icon easy St. Leger winner

Sixties Icon led a parade of Galileos across the line at York on Saturday as he swept to a most convincing victory in the Group 1, $885,000 St. Leger Stakes.

The world's oldest classic, the St. Leger proved to be a tribute to Galileo, winner of both the Epsom and Irish Derbies in 2001, as not only is Sixties Icon a son of Galileo, but so are the runner-up, The Last Drop, and third-place Red Rocks.

Sixties Icon was the well deserved 6-5 favorite by virtue of his handy score in the 1 1/2-mile Group 3 Gordon Stakes at Goodwood on Aug. 1. Trained by Jeremy Noseda for owner Susan Roy, the winner gave rider Frankie Dettori his second St. Leger triumph and fourth on the card.

Allowed to settle at the back of the pack in the 1 3/4-mile Group 1, Sixties Icon traveled smoothly into the lead approaching the eighth pole, from which point it was a cakewalk to the line. The winning margin was a comfortable 2 1/2 lengths, and the time for the 1 3/4 miles on good ground was 2:57.29.

So impressive was Sixties Icon that Paul Roy, husband of owner Susan Roy, said that they will consider supplementing him to the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe at a cost of $76,000.

* On the St. Leger undercard, Dettori guided Breeders' Cup Mile hopeful Iffraaj to a gutsy three-quarter-length victory over Somnus in the seven-furlong Group 2 Park Stakes. The winner of this race last year, Iffraaj had previously taken the seven-furlong Group 2 Lennox Stakes at Goodwood. Trained by Saeed bin Suroor for Godolphin, the 3-5 Iffraaj was timed in a York track record of 1:21.98. The 1000 Guineas winner, Speciosa, was fifth, beaten 4 1/4 lengths.

Dettori later won his third group race of the day when he took the Group 3 Strensall Stakes with Echo of Light, also owned by Godolphin. A 4-year-old son of Dubai Millennium, Echo of Light defeated Stage Gift by 2 1/2 lengths as the 5-2 favorite, getting the 1 1/8 miles in 1:50.74.