Race type - Jump
Ffos Las
Course details
Opening its doors for the first time on June 18th 2009, Ffos Las is Britain's newest racecourse and only the third to be situated in Wales; the other two being Chepstow (90 miles away) and Bangor-on-Dee.
The track is perfectly flat with long straights and gently sweeping bends, making it best suited to long-striding, galloping types.
GUIDE - For Racecourse
Left-handed, flat, 1m4f oval circuit.
Opening its doors for the first time on June 18th 2009, Ffos Las is Britain's newest racecourse and only the third to be situated in Wales; the other two being Chepstow (90 miles away) and Bangor-on-Dee. It was the brain-child of local businessman Dai Walters, who is also a racehorse owner with a string of around 50 horses scattered around various trainers, including Oscar Whisky, who landed the Welsh Champion Hurdle here in 2011. The course has had its allocation of fixtures increased to 26 in 2012 and the venue should continue to be well-patronised by the local community, whilst it's proximity to Pembroke Dock and Fishguard should ensure plenty of visitors (both human and equine) from Ireland.
Course Characteristics
The track is perfectly flat with long straights and gently sweeping bends, making it best suited to long-striding, galloping types. Extremes of going are rare and the general consensus from jockeys is that the track rides very fair, and horses can win from the front or come from behind. Recent meetings have seen a drop in field sizes, which is a shame as the course is wide enough to accommodate large fields and would make an excellent venue for a future Welsh National, providing Chepstow can be persuaded to relinquish it.
Top Trainers
Due to the courses location in South Wales, it is well patronised by local trainers with Evan Williams leading the way with 29 winners, although his strike rate of 13% is nothing to write home about. It's a similar story with Peter Bowen (20 winners / 13%) and Tim Vaughan (19 winners / 11%) with many of their runners being no-hopers or in need of the run, so a selective approach is required when following these trainers. The up-and-coming Rebecca Curtis, on the other hand, regular hits the bookmakers hard and that contributes to an impressive strike rate of 23%. She's particularly worth following in National Hunt flat races (bumpers) with Tony McCoy often booked to do the steering.
Top Jockeys
The perennial champion jockey Tony McCoy has made this track his own since it opened with 38 winners for an impressive strike rate of 31%. Richard Johnson (the perennial runner-up in the title race) has also fared well numerically with 26 winners. Paul Moloney, Tom O'Brien and Paddy Brennan have also given their followers plenty to smile about, with the latter's strike rate of 20% and level stakes profit of £24 making him well worth following at the Welsh venue.