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
3m 6f 130y	Potters Corner (Heavy)	27 Dec 2019	8m 21.6s

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 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	60	10	15	£167,889	16.67%	-£7.79
D Pipe	17	6	4	£61,944	35.29%	£29.88
Evan Williams	50	5	19	£32,372	10%	-£7.00
Miss V Williams	40	5	14	£44,120	12.5%	-£15.50
P J Hobbs	30	5	9	£48,996	16.67%	-£6.42
N P Mulholland	21	5	7	£41,845	23.81%	£20.75
D Skelton	22	4	6	£34,641	18.18%	£18.50
T R George	18	3	2	£24,357	16.67%	-£2.60
Tom Lacey	6	3	2	£16,246	50%	£5.13
P F Nicholls	22	2	11	£29,173	9.09%	-£19.25

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Evan Williams	77	14	19	£103,517	18.18%	£60.96
P F Nicholls	57	12	23	£113,668	21.05%	-£4.19
P J Hobbs	50	11	13	£66,660	22%	£12.58
C L Tizzard	63	9	22	£34,960	14.29%	-£34.86
W Greatrex	25	5	9	£28,995	20%	-£0.71
F O'Brien	24	4	11	£31,564	16.67%	-£13.00
N P Mulholland	37	4	7	£16,375	10.81%	-£14.00
Tom Lacey	18	4	6	£13,711	22.22%	£18.50
J Scott	16	4	4	£14,426	25%	-£2.17
D Skelton	46	3	17	£68,742	6.52%	-£29.80

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
P F Nicholls	15	7	3	£20,143	46.67%	£8.48
D Pipe	6	3	0	£8,122	50%	£10.91
N A Twiston-Davies	8	2	3	£4,548	25%	£1.10
Tom Lacey	8	2	2	£5,523	25%	£12.50
Ben Pauling	8	1	3	£2,274	12.5%	-£4.50
K C Bailey	4	1	3	£2,274	25%	-£2.43
D Skelton	8	1	2	£2,274	12.5%	-£1.00
F O'Brien	7	1	2	£1,949	14.29%	-£5.50
Olly Murphy	4	1	1	£2,274	25%	£2.00
N J Hawke	3	1	1	£2,274	33.33%	£8.00

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
P D Evans	135	16	44	£56,055	11.85%	-£45.77
R M Beckett	39	12	12	£49,908	30.77%	£12.97
R Hannon	87	11	33	£40,884	12.64%	-£23.13
M R Channon	67	10	25	£33,187	14.93%	£5.75
J G M O'Shea	82	9	28	£40,626	10.98%	-£6.80
Eve Johnson Houghton	51	9	21	£35,385	17.65%	-£10.59
R Harris	67	9	19	£28,140	13.43%	£19.60
A M Balding	50	9	17	£37,455	18%	-£21.92
Grace Harris	77	9	10	£37,780	11.69%	£48.00
B R Millman	62	8	23	£39,296	12.9%	-£37.54

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	33	6	12	£52,505	18.18%	£3.25
H Cobden	28	5	6	£38,913	17.86%	£0.50
Adam Wedge	43	4	19	£27,758	9.3%	-£5.50
Charlie Deutsch	24	4	9	£39,831	16.67%	-£6.00
P J Brennan	19	4	7	£64,749	21.05%	£16.50
R T Dunne	17	4	7	£20,535	23.53%	£9.05
M G Nolan	18	4	6	£24,563	22.22%	-£0.92
T Scudamore	21	4	4	£22,938	19.05%	£14.88
S Bowen	21	3	6	£46,443	14.29%	£8.00
Stan Sheppard	18	3	6	£13,517	16.67%	-£4.63

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
R Johnson	71	16	24	£85,895	22.54%	-£1.30
Adam Wedge	54	11	17	£42,953	20.37%	£52.58
H Cobden	44	7	17	£56,701	15.91%	-£20.19
T Scudamore	46	7	13	£26,513	15.22%	-£14.80
R M Power	24	6	9	£21,054	25%	-£5.98
Sam Twiston-Davies	34	5	13	£53,524	14.71%	-£6.00
Bryony Frost	25	4	5	£18,389	16%	-£8.25
D A Jacob	15	4	5	£58,561	26.67%	-£4.97
P J Brennan	30	3	12	£52,501	10%	-£0.50
G Sheehan	23	3	10	£14,426	13.04%	-£16.20

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Sam Twiston-Davies	9	4	1	£11,696	44.44%	£3.43
T Scudamore	8	3	2	£6,822	37.5%	£3.41
H Cobden	8	3	2	£8,447	37.5%	£4.90
Adrian Heskin	5	1	4	£2,274	20%	-£0.50
R Johnson	8	1	2	£3,249	12.5%	£7.00
Richard Patrick	6	1	1	£1,949	16.67%	-£2.50
Bryony Frost	4	1	1	£2,274	25%	-£1.25
G Sheehan	4	1	1	£2,274	25%	-£1.00
M Hamill	3	1	1	£2,274	33.33%	-£1.43
Fergus Gregory	3	1	1	£2,274	33.33%	£3.00

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Rossa Ryan	128	30	47	£116,476	23.44%	£45.15
David Probert	146	16	46	£56,054	10.96%	-£43.78
L Morris	100	15	38	£49,196	15%	-£30.72
Rob Hornby	71	12	16	£43,988	16.9%	£4.00
R Kingscote	48	11	21	£38,329	22.92%	-£12.29
Callum Shepherd	57	11	13	£37,521	19.3%	£34.75
Tom Marquand	58	10	18	£31,698	17.24%	£0.00
Oisin Murphy	42	9	25	£31,797	21.43%	-£21.36
Harry Bentley	27	7	10	£28,659	25.93%	-£16.89
David Egan	22	7	7	£38,455	31.82%	£34.83