Race type - Jump
Stratford
Course details
They've been racing at Stratford for over 250 years with the first recorded meeting taking place in 1755, although it was abandoned for a large part of the early 19th century after local farmers complained about their crops being damaged by the galloping horses!
Any horses with good flat speed can really press home their advantage here and it's not unusual to see the winner come from off the pace.
GUIDE - For Racecourse
Left-handed, triangular circuit of 1m2f
They've been racing at Stratford for over 250 years with the first recorded meeting taking place in 1755, although it was abandoned for a large part of the early 19th century after local farmers complained about their crops being damaged by the galloping horses! Fortunately, they relented and its been pretty much non stop since 1836 with the course these days an important part of the summer jumps programme, with most meetings taking place between May and September. There is a good reason for this as the course is literally on the banks of the River Avon, which ensures a steady supply of water and safe ground for the runners. There is a big tradition of hunting in the area and the entire hunting community (so it seems) descends on the track for the two-day meeting here in early June, when they stage the Stratford Foxhunters Champion Hunters' Chase.
Principal Races
The two-day meeting here in early June takes place over Friday (evening) and Saturday, with the two hunter chasers now run on the Friday. The Champion Novices' Hunters' Chase is as the name suggests for novice hunter chasers working their way through the ranks and connections are handed the prestigious John Corbet Cup, along with a cheque for over £10k. Later on the card, the Stratford Foxhunters Champion Hunters' Chase is like a 'Gold Cup' for those horses that have been running under point-to-point rules or in hunter chases and is a much sought after prize. The prolific winning Southwestern took the 53rd running in 2011. Saturday's main event is a handicap chase for the 'Gambling Prince Trophy', named after the popular course specialist.
Course Characteristics
The course is a tight left-hander measuring around 1m2f in circumference so, as you'd expect, it's the smaller more agile horses that adapt to it the best. At the top turn (looking right from the grandstand), the horses begin a distinct climb which continues to the middle of the back straight, when they start to descend again all the way until the home turn. The chase course consists of eight fences, two of which are in the home straight. However, the final one of these is a water jump and this is bypassed on the final circuit, making for quite a long run-in from the last. Any horses with good flat speed can really press home their advantage here and it's not unusual to see the winner come from off the pace. In hurdle races, there are two obstacles on the home straight and jumping ability is often the deciding factor.
Top Trainers
With most of the meetings taking place during the summer months, it's those trainers who keep plenty of horses on the go at this time that have had the lion's share of winners. There's little between the current top five and they are: Jonjo O'Neill, Evan Williams, Nigel Twiston-Davies, Paul Nicholls and David Pipe. Of these, Nicholls has the best strike rate at 29%, while the Twiston-Davies runners have yielded the biggest level stakes profit (£24) in the past five seasons. The up-and-coming Charlie Longsdon has done well here of late and his runners are always worth a second look.
Top Jockeys
It's A P McCoy and Richard Johnson that lead the way here, as they invariably do in the jockey's championship, with 33 and 26 winners respectively since 2007. Of the pair, McCoy boasts the better strike rate at 21%. Paddy Brennan, Tom Scudamore and Tom O'Brien also tend to send their backers home happy, whilst of the up-and-coming jockeys it's the names of Kielen Woods and Jake Greenall that standout.