Chepstow Course Guide

Situated just over the River Severn estuary in south-east Wales, Chepstow is a historic racecourse that stages action both on the Flat and over Jumps.

Initially devised as a Flat course – the great Sir Gordon Richards rode the winners of 11 consecutive races there over two days in 1933 – the track is better-famed for its National Hunt racing in recent times; the highlight of the calendar being the Welsh National over Christmas, a card which also includes the Grade 1 Finale Juvenile Hurdle.

Flat Racing
Jumps Racing

Left handed, undulating. An oval-shaped track, about two miles in extent, with a run-in of five furlongs. While not an out-and-out galloping course, owing to the pronounced undulations, the track puts the emphasis on stamina almost regardless of ground. All races up to a mile are run on the straight course.

Chepstow takes a fair bit of getting. Because it’s so up hill and down dale, stamina has to come into play and it’s also worth noting that the straight is quite long, meaning that some horses start to race a lot earlier than is ideal. If you’re on one that wants to make the running, for example, you’ll often get a few keen to take you on earlier than you might like, so patience is vital for a jockey. Long-striding horses can often go well on the straight track but, as it’s quite stiff, they definitely need to get home.

View from the saddle: Jason Weaver

Left-handed, undulating, oval course, nearly two miles round with eleven fences to a circuit, a five-furlong home straight, and a run-in of 250 yards. Conditions can be very testing. With five fences in the straight, the first part of which is downhill, front runners do well here.

Record times for Chepstow are very quick, which shows how slick it can be when the ground is fast, but horses can finish strung out like washing when it gets soft. Punters really must take note of conditions then, if they’re having a bet, because horses with stamina limitations can get home when the going is right for them, while it can be a real slog when it’s heavy. The other things to consider seriously are the undulations and the downhill run from the last. If you walk round the course, for example, you’ll be aware that, from several places out in the country, you can’t see the stands. The run-in, on the other hand, is quite steeply downhill, very quick on fast ground, and that’s why you often see horses make a mistake at the final jump.

View from the saddle: Mick Fitzgerald

Chepstow Top Times
Last 5 years

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat
Flat

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 11y	Valseur Du Granval (Good)	02 Nov 2016	3m 55.53s
2m 3f 98y	Astracad (Good)	11 Oct 2015	4m 43.94s
2m 7f 131y	Ballykan (Good)	30 Sep 2015	5m 49.5s
3m 2f 54y	Phangio (Good to Firm)	28 Apr 2017	6m 44s
3m 5f 110y	Elegant Escape (Soft)	27 Dec 2018	7m 49.5s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 11y	Broughton (Good)	11 Oct 2015	3m 46.64s
2m 3f 100y	Ballyoptic (Good)	08 Oct 2016	4m 36.1s
2m 4f	Anteros (Good to Firm)	24 Apr 2015	4m 42.7s
2m 7f 131y	Tobefair (Good)	30 Sep 2015	5m 52.14s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 11y	Fact Of The Matter (Good)	30 Sep 2015	3m 47.7s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
5f 16y	Majestic Hero (Good)	31 Jul 2016	57.66s
6f 16y	Heartsong (Soft)	31 Aug 2015	1m 6.13s
7f 16y	Harry Beau (Good to Firm)	03 Jul 2018	1m 20.61s
1m 14y	Happy Escape (Good to Firm)	15 May 2018	1m 32.34s
1m 2f	Show Of Force (Good to Firm)	19 Jul 2018	2m 4.58s
1m 4f 23y	Senza Una Donna (Good to Firm)	18 Aug 2016	2m 31.87s
2m	Hawkerland (Good)	04 Jul 2017	3m 27.28s
2m 2f	Danglydontask (Good to Firm)	18 Aug 2016	4m 1.14s

Chepstow Top Trainers
Last 3 years (ordered by number of winners)

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat
Flat

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
C L Tizzard	61	12	15	£269,529	19.67%	£9.25
P J Hobbs	44	11	14	£129,112	25%	£11.83
Miss V Williams	38	6	14	£70,349	15.79%	-£13.30
D Pipe	18	5	6	£43,176	27.78%	£22.38
Evan Williams	45	4	13	£36,790	8.89%	-£21.50
M Sheppard	27	4	8	£15,660	14.81%	-£2.13
P F Nicholls	31	3	10	£53,973	9.68%	-£14.25
N P Mulholland	25	3	6	£33,267	12%	-£7.25
D Skelton	17	3	5	£24,179	17.65%	£15.00
K C Bailey	12	3	4	£43,478	25%	£0.96

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
P F Nicholls	61	16	20	£153,939	26.23%	£5.07
Evan Williams	70	15	17	£117,588	21.43%	£71.96
P J Hobbs	62	13	14	£93,203	20.97%	-£3.28
C L Tizzard	60	6	26	£28,202	10%	-£17.88
W Greatrex	33	6	13	£44,820	18.18%	£2.29
Jonjo O'Neill	42	5	13	£23,523	11.9%	-£16.04
T R George	30	5	6	£22,938	16.67%	-£8.50
Tom Lacey	19	5	6	£16,310	26.32%	£42.50
J Scott	17	5	2	£18,325	29.41%	£2.33
F O'Brien	22	4	11	£34,423	18.18%	-£8.50

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
P F Nicholls	14	8	3	£23,067	57.14%	£10.48
T R George	9	3	2	£5,847	33.33%	£0.23
D Skelton	9	2	4	£4,223	22.22%	£6.00
N A Twiston-Davies	8	2	4	£4,548	25%	£1.10
F O'Brien	9	2	2	£5,198	22.22%	£2.50
Tom Lacey	5	2	2	£5,523	40%	£14.50
Miss E C Lavelle	8	1	3	£1,949	12.5%	-£6.09
M Scudamore	7	1	3	£6,498	14.29%	£1.00
Jonjo O'Neill	7	1	3	£1,949	14.29%	-£5.50
K C Bailey	5	1	2	£2,274	20%	-£4.43

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
P D Evans	139	17	57	£62,264	12.23%	-£27.22
M R Channon	60	12	26	£37,910	20%	£24.13
J G M O'Shea	84	11	28	£46,738	13.1%	£4.20
Eve Johnson Houghton	47	11	16	£42,758	23.4%	-£1.25
Ed De Giles	47	10	10	£34,027	21.28%	£27.00
A M Balding	51	9	21	£34,739	17.65%	-£20.79
R Harris	71	9	18	£30,533	12.68%	£21.85
Grace Harris	71	9	8	£34,966	12.68%	£62.00
R Hannon	78	8	32	£31,373	10.26%	-£52.13
Richard Hughes	49	8	13	£29,822	16.33%	-£16.20

Chepstow Top Jockeys
Last 3 years (ordered by number of winners)

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat
Flat

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
R Johnson	42	12	14	£201,106	28.57%	£28.50
Charlie Deutsch	21	6	7	£70,349	28.57%	£4.70
Stan Sheppard	23	6	6	£26,122	26.09%	£15.88
H Cobden	36	5	8	£37,093	13.89%	-£2.50
T Scudamore	23	5	7	£30,736	21.74%	£12.04
M G Nolan	14	4	5	£24,563	28.57%	£3.08
Adam Wedge	36	3	13	£32,176	8.33%	-£20.00
Nick Scholfield	29	3	9	£31,948	10.34%	-£7.00
S Bowen	26	3	9	£30,660	11.54%	-£2.00
T J O'Brien	20	3	7	£99,266	15%	-£12.00

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
R Johnson	81	20	27	£119,066	24.69%	-£4.75
Adam Wedge	46	9	15	£34,245	19.57%	£54.71
T Scudamore	53	8	19	£31,516	15.09%	-£15.25
Sam Twiston-Davies	36	8	15	£74,318	22.22%	-£2.63
H Cobden	45	7	11	£58,845	15.56%	-£16.21
P J Brennan	30	6	12	£69,396	20%	£15.50
G Sheehan	29	5	11	£34,150	17.24%	-£7.70
T J O'Brien	35	5	8	£28,627	14.29%	£0.21
D A Jacob	21	5	8	£53,038	23.81%	-£9.72
Nick Scholfield	49	4	8	£14,231	8.16%	-£37.84

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Sam Twiston-Davies	10	5	2	£13,645	50%	£3.93
T Scudamore	9	3	3	£11,046	33.33%	£3.41
H Cobden	7	3	3	£8,447	42.86%	£4.90
Mr N George	5	2	2	£3,898	40%	£2.50
Bridget Andrews	4	2	1	£4,223	50%	£12.00
R Johnson	10	1	5	£3,249	10%	£4.00
P J Brennan	5	1	2	£3,249	20%	£3.00
Ian Popham	5	1	2	£1,949	20%	-£1.00
Nick Scholfield	4	1	2	£3,249	25%	-£1.00
D A Jacob	4	1	2	£1,949	25%	-£3.09

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Rossa Ryan	79	18	26	£71,483	22.78%	£34.65
David Probert	111	15	41	£56,312	13.51%	-£10.91
L Morris	88	14	29	£45,410	15.91%	-£18.76
Callum Shepherd	66	14	18	£45,931	21.21%	£41.75
Oisin Murphy	52	10	26	£32,022	19.23%	-£22.97
Dane O'Neill	52	10	18	£39,654	19.23%	-£10.09
R Kingscote	39	9	18	£31,924	23.08%	-£7.53
Charles Bishop	58	9	15	£32,280	15.52%	-£1.75
Hollie Doyle	42	8	18	£29,369	19.05%	-£14.38
F Norton	44	7	16	£24,646	15.91%	-£11.65