Race type - Jump
Wetherby
Course details
Racing in the area can be traced back to Roman times but the course as we know it began life in 1891 and it's now one the north's premier jumps tracks.
The new surface seems to have now bedded in to a large extent and trainer's trust is returning, although recent dry summers haven't meant the chase course in particular has been riding extremely fast - the course recently staged an all-hurdles meeting after scrapping the chases.
GUIDE - For Racecourse
Left-Handed, Long, flattened oval of 1m4f.
Racing in the area can be traced back to Roman times but the course as we know it began life in 1891 and it's now one the north's premier jumps tracks. Situated very close to the main A1 road, it is easily accessible from both the north and south, although events in October 2009, when four horses died at one meeting, caused several trainers to stop sending their horses here believing that the deaths were a result of the inconsistent state of the ground - the course had been realigned a couple of seasons previously. Thankfully, the new surface seems to have now bedded in to a large extent and trainer's trust is returning, although recent dry summers haven't meant the chase course in particular has been riding extremely fast - the course recently staged an all-hurdles meeting after scrapping the chases.
Principal Races
The Charlie Hall Chase, sponsored by bet365 in recent years, is an early National Hunt season highlight and attracts some of the best 3m chasers around. Coming as it does at the end of October, it is sometimes used a stepping stone to the Hennessy at Newbury in late November. Weird Al won the 2011 renewal before running a cracking third to Kauto Star in the Betfair Chase, albeit 10 lengths adrift. At the same October meeting, there are three valuable hurdle races: Towton Novices' Chase, Wensleydale Juvenile Hurdle and a Listed hurdle for mares. On Boxing Day, there are tailbacks on the M1 as racegoers flock to the course for the Rowland Meyrick Chase, a valuable handicap over 3m1f - get there early!
Course Characteristics
The track's long straights make it an ideal venue for long-striding galloping types, and it is seen as a real test for a jumper. The fences have always been fairly stiff and poor jumpers often come a cropper here. If you are betting in-running and hit the back button approaching the last, your heart will be in your mouth!
Top Trainers
Donald McCain has quickly risen up the training ranks and this is definitely one of his favourite tracks, having trained 37 winners in the last five seasons for a strike rate of 19%. Sue Smith, Micky Hammond and Tim Easterby train a good proportion of the winners here, but plenty of losers too. A new name to look out for is Charlie Longsden whose six runners here in the 2011/12 season have yielded four wins for a healthy level stakes profit.
Top Jockeys
Brian Hughes rode stacks of winners here when he was employed by Howard Johnson but, after that trainer's warning off in the summer of 2011, he has switched to the up-and-coming stable of James Ewart and punters can expect the winners to keep flowing. Denis O'Regan, who also used to ride for Johnson, and the massively underrated Graham Lee ride this track particularly well with 23 and 21 winners respectively over the past five seasons. A certain AP McCoy makes the most of his trips to North Yorkshire, riding 21 winners at a hugely eye-catching strike rate of 44%. Lucy Alexander has been the jockey to follow this season, booting home three winners for a level stakes profit of £56!