Dr Johnson injured

Dr Johnson, a leading hope for the St Leger a week on Saturday, will miss the race after injuring himself, the colt's trainer Charles O'Brien said yesterday.

The chestnut, successful in four of his six starts this term, was an 11-2 chance in William Hill's betting on the strength of his win at Leopardstown last month. His absence has prompted William Hill to shorten the prices of their market leaders for the race, Silver Patriarch and Stowaway, to 5-2 from 11-4, with Andre Fabre's Vertical Speed, who began the day at 11-2, now a 7-2 chance.