Doncaster Course Guide

Home of the World’s Oldest Classic, Doncaster is one of the historic homes of horse racing. The highlight of the year on the flat is undoubtedly the four-day St Leger Festival in September, where the feature race, the St Leger, first run in 1776, is staged on the Saturday, and the meeting also boasts such prestigious races as the Doncaster Cup, Champagne Stakes, Flying Childers Stakes, May Hill Stakes and Portland Handicap.

Doncaster also stages the first and last turf race meetings of the Flat season; starting with the Lincoln Meeting in March and ending on November Handicap day. In between are a clutch of valuable afternoon and evening fixtures, including the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy, run in late October, which is often a strong pointer to the following year’s classics.

Over jumps Doncaster hosts some important fixtures over the winter; the most significant being the Yorkshire Chase in late January and the Grimthorpe Chase in early March.

Flat Racing
Jumps Racing

Left handed, galloping. One of the fairest courses in the country, essentially flat with the exception of a slight uphill gradient about a mile and a quarter from the finish. Races between five furlongs and one mile are run on the straight course, though there is also a round mile start on an off-shoot of the round course. It is a free-draining course, underfoot conditions only occasionally being soft/heavy.

There are not many fairer courses than Doncaster, which is a lovely, virtually flat, galloping track. You do climb briefly, up and over Rose Hill, but, for the most part, it’s beautifully smooth to ride, a good, solid test of a horse. There can be one or two hard-luck stories, especially on the round course, when lots of runners are still in contention late on, and that’s where jockeyship comes in. I liked to be on the stands’ side on the straight course, but either side is fine, just as long as you’re not far off a rail.

View from the saddle: Jason Weaver

Left handed, essentially flat. Extremely well-draining course, with conditions often favouring speedier types despite its galloping nature. Surprisingly for such a galloping track, plenty of chases are well run and this perhaps explains why the casualty figures are so high.

It always pays to sit comfy on a horse at Doncaster, so, ideally, you want one that travels easily for you. If you find yourself pushing along turning into the back straight, you often get further and further behind those going better than you are. That’s especially true when the ground is quick and it’s fair to say you can afford to be a bit more patient when there’s some ease underfoot. It’s quite a tough track for a novice chaser, because a couple of the fences - including the last ditch - can test their jumping.

View from the saddle: Mick Fitzgerald

Doncaster Top Times
Last 5 years

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat
Flat

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 78y	Clic Work (Good to Soft)	29 Dec 2016	3m 54.4s
2m 3f 31y	Buster Thomas (Good)	30 Nov 2018	4m 39.67s
2m 4f 115y	Kalane (Good to Soft)	29 Dec 2016	4m 59.8s
2m 7f 214y	Rocky's Treasure (Good)	15 Dec 2018	5m 53.1s
3m 2f 14y	Paint The Clouds (Good)	24 Feb 2016	6m 28.9s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 128y	All Set To Go (Good)	10 Dec 2016	3m 53.38s
2m 3f 88y	Just Milly (Good to Soft)	29 Dec 2016	4m 33.25s
2m 4f 181y	Nadaitak (Good)	30 Nov 2018	5m 0.23s
3m 84y	Parish Business (Good to Soft)	29 Dec 2016	5m 47.2s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
1m 5f	Irish Prophecy (Good)	26 Nov 2016	2m 56.1s
2m 128y	Black Op (Good)	22 Feb 2017	3m 46.6s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
5f 3y	Young Tiger (Good to Firm)	15 Aug 2020	57.41s
5f 143y	Princess Power (Good)	29 Jun 2019	1m 6.01s
6f 110y	Normandy Barriere (Good)	09 Sep 2016	1m 17.68s
7f 6y	Harbour Vision (Good to Firm)	15 Aug 2020	1m 22.55s
1m	Magical Morning (Good to Firm)	26 Jun 2020	1m 36.37s
1m 2f 43y	West End Charmer (Good to Firm)	01 Jun 2019	2m 5.57s
1m 3f 197y	Sea Of Style (Good to Firm)	25 Jul 2020	2m 29.35s
1m 6f	Logician (Good to Firm)	14 Sep 2019	3m 0.27s
2m 110y	Handiwork (Good to Firm)	28 Apr 2017	3m 37.02s
2m 1f 197y	Desert Skyline (Good to Soft)	15 Sep 2017	3m 51.88s

Doncaster 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
D Skelton	19	5	6	£57,347	26.32%	£2.33
P F Nicholls	20	4	10	£32,877	20%	-£12.72
A King	22	3	11	£16,451	13.64%	-£17.52
D McCain Jnr	14	3	9	£15,921	21.43%	£0.50
C E Longsdon	16	3	7	£40,406	18.75%	£18.50
N A Twiston-Davies	12	3	6	£65,733	25%	£16.33
N J Henderson	13	3	5	£92,522	23.08%	£1.58
N G Richards	12	3	4	£68,816	25%	£13.50
Oliver Greenall	9	3	4	£15,921	33.33%	£4.50
K C Bailey	6	3	0	£38,643	50%	£7.24

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Ben Pauling	31	8	8	£45,009	25.81%	£51.13
N J Henderson	27	7	10	£24,498	25.93%	-£11.19
D Skelton	38	6	11	£26,057	15.79%	-£10.59
P A Kirby	47	5	12	£68,907	10.64%	-£33.77
Ian Williams	28	4	11	£16,766	14.29%	-£6.33
D McCain Jnr	23	4	9	£41,716	17.39%	£7.83
P F Nicholls	14	4	7	£82,739	28.57%	-£6.61
N P Mulholland	18	4	6	£15,076	22.22%	£11.00
A King	41	3	17	£19,253	7.32%	-£33.38
Tom Lacey	13	3	8	£22,519	23.08%	-£0.92

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
A King	6	2	2	£4,548	33.33%	£6.00
N J Henderson	4	1	2	£2,274	25%	-£3.09
K C Bailey	3	1	2	£2,599	33.33%	£0.25
D Skelton	4	1	1	£2,274	25%	-£0.75
T R George	3	1	1	£2,274	33.33%	-£0.50
B Ellison	2	1	1	£2,274	50%	£1.00
G P Mcpherson	2	1	0	£2,599	50%	£7.00
Jamie Snowden	1	1	0	£2,599	100%	£5.00
J Scott	1	1	0	£2,274	100%	£14.00
J Ryan	1	1	0	£2,274	100%	£2.50

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
R Varian	100	24	49	£330,298	24%	-£30.66
R A Fahey	208	20	70	£119,460	9.62%	-£66.80
R Hannon	172	16	63	£174,374	9.3%	-£93.51
J H M Gosden	67	16	26	£696,315	23.88%	-£9.51
M Johnston	104	14	46	£78,081	13.46%	-£37.08
Sir Michael Stoute	52	13	21	£162,632	25%	-£14.08
A M Balding	57	13	17	£378,808	22.81%	£66.75
R M Beckett	61	12	22	£99,553	19.67%	£18.88
W J Haggas	71	11	31	£101,388	15.49%	-£13.83
S bin Suroor	36	11	15	£73,842	30.56%	£6.04

Doncaster 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
Aidan Coleman	13	4	4	£31,366	30.77%	-£5.74
Danny Cook	12	3	7	£15,596	25%	£5.75
H Cobden	9	3	4	£31,629	33.33%	-£2.63
P J Brennan	8	3	3	£36,725	37.5%	£6.50
Paul O'Brien	8	3	1	£40,406	37.5%	£26.50
David Bass	7	3	0	£38,643	42.86%	£6.24
B S Hughes	29	2	16	£19,929	6.9%	-£21.00
Wayne Hutchinson	8	2	5	£9,108	25%	-£4.77
Sean Quinlan	13	2	4	£25,786	15.38%	-£1.00
Henry Brooke	10	2	4	£9,228	20%	£25.00

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Nico de Boinville	20	7	3	£39,114	35%	£6.06
L P Aspell	19	6	6	£49,594	31.58%	£13.25
David Bass	17	6	4	£26,058	35.29%	£31.46
B S Hughes	35	5	14	£45,485	14.29%	£0.83
T J O'Brien	26	4	11	£15,791	15.38%	-£2.29
Sean Quinlan	25	3	13	£35,363	12%	-£17.50
Aidan Coleman	28	3	11	£22,366	10.71%	-£14.50
Thomas Bellamy	26	3	11	£13,776	11.54%	-£13.00
J McGrath	12	3	4	£10,202	25%	-£4.59
Harry Skelton	12	3	3	£14,425	25%	-£0.59

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Nico de Boinville	3	2	0	£4,548	66.67%	£1.11
G Sheehan	3	1	2	£2,599	33.33%	£3.00
Kielan Woods	3	1	1	£2,599	33.33%	£6.00
J J Burke	3	1	0	£2,274	33.33%	-£0.50
P J Brennan	2	1	0	£2,274	50%	£0.50
Matt Griffiths	1	1	0	£2,274	100%	£14.00
Thomas Bellamy	1	1	0	£2,274	100%	£3.00
M Hamill	1	1	0	£2,599	100%	£2.25
Mr T Durrell	1	1	0	£2,274	100%	£2.25
Max Browne	1	1	0	£2,274	100%	£7.00

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Andrea Atzeni	127	21	50	£209,070	16.54%	-£67.44
D Tudhope	104	17	44	£130,844	16.35%	-£13.63
Jim Crowley	63	14	24	£279,724	22.22%	-£1.83
P J McDonald	101	13	42	£82,912	12.87%	-£2.25
W Buick	75	12	26	£224,218	16%	-£8.50
L Dettori	43	12	12	£685,715	27.91%	£7.56
B A Curtis	97	11	30	£54,335	11.34%	-£21.29
J P Spencer	56	11	18	£136,465	19.64%	£16.82
D Allan	75	10	20	£78,654	13.33%	£1.50
R L Moore	55	10	20	£581,767	18.18%	-£28.37