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	Festival Day (Good)	17 Sep 2019	1m 20.48s
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	Arty Campbell (Good)	22 Aug 2019	3m 59.15s

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	66	12	14	£266,020	18.18%	£5.71
P J Hobbs	40	10	12	£109,618	25%	£8.83
Miss V Williams	39	6	15	£69,440	15.38%	-£12.30
D Pipe	21	6	6	£61,944	28.57%	£24.88
Evan Williams	52	4	18	£36,790	7.69%	-£28.50
M Sheppard	24	4	6	£30,794	16.67%	£8.88
N P Mulholland	23	4	6	£37,556	17.39%	£11.75
D Skelton	19	4	5	£34,641	21.05%	£21.50
P F Nicholls	28	3	11	£35,671	10.71%	-£20.25
K C Bailey	12	3	4	£43,478	25%	£0.96

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Evan Williams	79	15	19	£117,588	18.99%	£63.96
P J Hobbs	59	14	13	£102,933	23.73%	£10.97
P F Nicholls	60	13	23	£117,372	21.67%	-£6.02
C L Tizzard	64	6	24	£24,628	9.38%	-£43.28
W Greatrex	33	6	13	£44,820	18.18%	£2.29
Jonjo O'Neill	39	5	15	£23,393	12.82%	-£11.79
F O'Brien	25	5	12	£38,062	20%	-£8.00
Tom Lacey	21	5	6	£16,310	23.81%	£41.50
J Scott	19	5	4	£18,325	26.32%	£1.33
N J Henderson	18	4	8	£40,432	22.22%	-£11.87

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
P F Nicholls	14	7	3	£19,818	50%	£7.48
D Pipe	8	3	1	£8,122	37.5%	£7.91
D Skelton	10	2	4	£4,223	20%	£5.00
N A Twiston-Davies	9	2	3	£4,548	22.22%	£0.10
T R George	9	2	2	£3,898	22.22%	-£1.50
Tom Lacey	6	2	1	£5,523	33.33%	£14.50
Jonjo O'Neill	12	1	6	£1,949	8.33%	-£9.50
Miss E C Lavelle	8	1	3	£1,949	12.5%	-£6.09
M Scudamore	7	1	3	£6,498	14.29%	£1.00
F O'Brien	8	1	2	£1,949	12.5%	-£6.50

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
P D Evans	148	17	58	£62,782	11.49%	-£44.22
M R Channon	63	12	25	£37,458	19.05%	£29.13
J G M O'Shea	86	11	27	£47,094	12.79%	£2.70
Eve Johnson Houghton	50	11	19	£42,953	22%	-£5.34
R Hannon	81	10	33	£36,485	12.35%	-£23.63
Ed De Giles	48	10	10	£34,027	20.83%	£26.00
Grace Harris	71	10	9	£40,174	14.08%	£69.00
A M Balding	50	9	22	£34,739	18%	-£19.79
R Harris	73	9	19	£28,140	12.33%	£14.60
C G Cox	35	8	12	£31,115	22.86%	-£16.11

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	39	11	12	£181,612	28.21%	£24.50
H Cobden	36	5	9	£38,913	13.89%	-£7.50
Charlie Deutsch	21	5	8	£65,151	23.81%	-£0.80
S Bowen	25	4	8	£50,992	16%	£20.00
R T Dunne	19	4	7	£21,444	21.05%	£4.80
Stan Sheppard	20	4	6	£15,076	20%	-£0.63
M G Nolan	15	4	5	£24,563	26.67%	£2.08
T Scudamore	21	4	4	£22,938	19.05%	£12.88
Adam Wedge	41	3	18	£32,176	7.32%	-£25.00
T J O'Brien	18	3	6	£99,266	16.67%	-£10.00

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
R Johnson	76	18	26	£118,399	23.68%	-£4.25
Adam Wedge	56	10	16	£38,014	17.86%	£49.21
H Cobden	50	8	18	£63,004	16%	-£20.59
T Scudamore	49	8	15	£31,516	16.33%	-£11.25
Sam Twiston-Davies	38	6	15	£57,423	15.79%	-£8.93
P J Brennan	32	5	12	£65,497	15.63%	£9.50
D A Jacob	20	5	8	£62,135	25%	-£7.97
G Sheehan	26	4	11	£30,251	15.38%	-£8.20
T J O'Brien	30	4	6	£33,175	13.33%	-£10.79
Bryony Frost	23	4	2	£18,389	17.39%	-£6.25

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Sam Twiston-Davies	11	5	2	£13,645	45.45%	£2.93
T Scudamore	10	4	3	£13,320	40%	£8.41
H Cobden	9	3	3	£8,447	33.33%	£2.90
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	4	£3,249	10%	£5.00
Ian Popham	5	1	2	£1,949	20%	-£1.00
D A Jacob	4	1	2	£1,949	25%	-£3.09
Richard Patrick	6	1	1	£1,949	16.67%	-£2.50
M Hamill	4	1	1	£2,274	25%	-£3.43

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Rossa Ryan	99	23	35	£91,539	23.23%	£47.90
David Probert	128	17	45	£61,876	13.28%	-£15.16
L Morris	99	14	37	£45,410	14.14%	-£30.76
Callum Shepherd	68	14	18	£45,931	20.59%	£38.75
Oisin Murphy	51	11	29	£36,973	21.57%	-£22.86
Hollie Doyle	43	8	19	£29,369	18.6%	-£15.38
Rob Hornby	68	8	18	£28,464	11.76%	-£8.75
R Kingscote	39	8	18	£29,013	20.51%	-£8.73
Charles Bishop	60	8	17	£29,046	13.33%	-£6.75
F Norton	48	8	16	£28,075	16.67%	-£13.98