History calls for the horse named Eric

Three racing dynasties can fittingly combine to win Saturday's St Leger, the 226th running of the world's oldest Classic race, with Bollin Eric.

The colt, from a long line of British "homebreds", has the right credentials to land the Doncaster marathon, being handled by a legendary training family and owned by breeders who have carried the standard for northern racing for more than four decades.

Bollin Eric belongs to the 85-year-old Sir Neil Westbrook, a former lord mayor of Manchester, who splits his racing interests along gender lines with his wife of 57 years, Lady Joan: their fillies run in her name and the colts in his.

The Bollin tag on their horses reflects the Westbrooks' Cheshire roots, as the rolling 150 acres of their Prestbury home, White Gables, is cut in two by the river Bollin.

Lady Joan said: "When we came into racing more than 40 years ago you couldn't use a prefix for more than two horses, but now sponsorship has changed all that. I can't remember how many Bollins there have been over the years, but the name has been lucky.

"Eric has been very consistent this season without winning because he hasn't had his going. A bit of give in the ground on Saturday would give him a little edge because he has got a reasonably high action.

"We have never had a Classic runner, let alone a Classic winner, and as we are both getting a little long in the tooth we hope the moment may have arrived."

The Westbrooks' fortunes are inextricably linked with the Easterby family. Their broodmares are based at the Easterby stable at Malton, north Yorkshire and the progeny is trained there.

Peter Easterby handed over the reins to his son Tim not long ago, but the link goes back even further. "We started out with Walter Easterby, Peter's uncle, at Tadcaster, so it is a partnership steeped in tradition," added Lady Joan.

The horse she calls "Eric" is by the 1996 Epsom Derby winner Shaamit out of Bollin Zola, the dam of Bollin Joanne, who won the Group Three Duke of York Stakes but sadly died last year after breaking her femur while in foal.

Whether or not Eric claims his niche in the Classic records on Saturday, his forebears have already carved a little place in history, as his trainer Tim Easterby explains.

"There seem to have been Westbrooks, Easterbys and Bollins for as long as I can remember," he said. "I recall when I was an amateur jockey winning a race on Gowanloch from the Bollin strain at Newmarket, and a few more winners I rode began with Bollin.

"For a race of this class I always aim to get the horse there fit on the day, as a lot of things can go wrong in this game. But at this stage Eric is fine, and if the going turns out to be good to soft it would suit us. The extra furlongs of the Leger could also come into play."

Like his namesake river, Bollin Eric just keeps rolling along. It would round off the season nicely if such a stout stayer could land the final Classic for the Westbrooks, the Easterbys and the north - just to prove that if you have the stamina, you'll get there in the end.

· There were no surprise St Leger withdrawals at yesterday's confirmation stage, with 13 hopefuls standing their ground, though Kazzia is a doubtful starter as she has a foot abscess. If fit, the Godolphin filly will attempt to become the first since Oh So Sharp in 1985 to win the fillies' Triple Crown, having already landed the Sagitta 1,000 Guineas and Vodafone Oaks.