FORMER Hong Kong champion jockey Philip Robinson captured the final Classic of the English season yesterday in an emotion-charged St Leger at Doncaster.
Trained by Newmarket-based Mark Tompkins, Bob's Return scored a three-and-a-half-length win over Armiger for a victory greeted with delight by the sun-drenched crowd.
With British racing dominated by large stables and Arab owners, there was unrestrained delight when Bob's Return, brilliantly placed throughout the season by Tompkins, romped home.
Horses owned by Sheik Mohammad and Prince Khalid Abdullah trailed in well behind Bob's Return, who was kept on the early pace by Robinson.
Robinson, who won the Hong Kong title in successive seasons when retained by David Oughton, is no stranger to Classic glory - although he was the first to admit that it had been a while.
''You have to go back 10 years or so to Katies and Pebbles, but this has certainly been worth waiting for.'' The public finally went for Bob's Return in the closing minutes of betting and he was returned the 3-1 favourite with second-placed Armiger at 4-1 and the second elect.
