Race type - Flat
Brighton
Course details
With a horseshoe format, Brighton is one of only a handful of British racecourses that doesn’t form a joined-up circuit. The course is just a mile north of Brighton in the undulating scenery of the South Downs, and incorporates a slope, with a sizable descent followed by a stiff climb for the finish line. The essential race at Brighton is the John Smith Mile Challenge Trophy, running on the first weekend of August.
GUIDE - For Racecourse
Left-handed, 1m4f course shaped like a widened-U
Perched up high on the Sussex Downs overlooking the English channel, Brighton is seaside racing at its very best. The course dates back to 1783 when it was a popular haunt of the aristocracy but didn't really take off until the mid-19th century when the first London-Brighton rail link was established, thus ensuring a steady flow of visitors from the capital. Some of these were dubious characters, however, and in the 1930s it became a magnet for gangsters such as Charles Sabini, whose main source of income came from racecourse protection rackets operated against bookmakers and is immortalised in Graham Greene's novel 'Brighton Rock'. That's all history of course and the track these days is well-run by Northern Racing, with the nearby town a delightful place to stay.
Track / Draw Bias
Much depends on the going and time of the year. Early in the season, the ground often rides on the slow side of good and runners tend to head for the outside rail, thus giving horses drawn wide (high) a slight edge. However, towards the end of the season when the ground is more chewed up, it's often the case of which jockey can find the freshest strip of ground. On the fast ground which tends to prevail in the summer months, it's the low-drawn prominent racers than tend to dominate, with any horses drawn in double figures facing an uphill task.
Principal Races
The three-day August meeting known as the 'Brighton Festival' is increasing in popularity every year, with Ladies' Day, which is on the middle Thursday, a real eye-opener. There are some valuable handicaps run at that meeting but the standard of racing overall is fairly modest, although always fascinating to watch on the quirky layout.
Course Characteristics
Some people have likened Brighton to Epsom and while there are some similarities - left-handed, not a complete circuit and steeply downhill in places - it's like nowhere else. Think of the letter U lying on its side with the curved end to the left of the grandstand. The maximum race distance is 1m4f and this is only facilitated by the closing and then turfing off a public highway on race days. Runners in these races have to travel uphill for the first 3f before taking a slight descent all the way to the 4f pole, where the ground falls away more steeply until 2f from the finishing line. There is then a slight rise with the last 100yds all but level. The undulations don't tend to suit the long-striding galloping types and it's the nippier more agile horses that are in their element, with previous course form always an advantage.
Top Trainers
The big Newmarket trainers do have runners here and one in particular, David Simcock, has been highly successful with 12 of his 41 runners (29%) in the past five seasons passing the winning post in front. Numerically-speaking it's the yard of Richard Hannon that dies best with his 18 runners coming at a good strike rate of 23%. Mick Channon and David Evans are two others to note along with Jim Best, whose winners are often well-backed.
Top Jockeys
No jockey rides the track better than Ryan Moore, who has been successful on 27% of his rides since 2007. It's not unusual for him to have two or more winners at one meeting. Neil Callan and Seb Sanders, on 24% and 19% respectively, should continue to be profitable to follow along with Liam Keniry.