Vinnie Roe heads Royal-Oak

The stalwart Irish stayer Vinnie Roe will attempt to collect the fifth St. Leger trophy of his career at Longchamp on Sunday in the $177,000 Group 1 Prix Royal-Oak.

Vinnie Roe won the the 1 15/16-mile Royal-Oak, the French equivalent of the English St. Leger Stakes, as a 3-year-old in 2001 and has also won the Irish St. Leger three times, including its most recent running Sept. 13.

Trained by Dermot Weld, Vinnie Roe will be meeting as fine a field of stayers as has been seen this year. Among his 13 rivals are the first three from the 2 1/2-mile Group 1 Prix du Cadran: Westerner, Germinis, and Darasim.