Kempton Course Guide

The closest racecourse to central London, situated 16 miles south-west of Trafalgar Square, Kempton Park is famously home of the Christmas jumping showpiece, the King George VI Chase. First run in 1937, the three-mile chase is the second-most important steeplechase in the calendar and boasts a roll of honour equal to the Gold Cup itself. The big race is the feature on a brilliant Boxing Day card that also includes the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle and Feltham Novices’ Chase.

Other significant jump races at Kempton are the Lanzarote Hurdle in late January and, a month later, the Betbright Chase – a handicap over three miles won in the past by Desert Orchid and Rough Quest.

Kempton now stages flat racing throughout the year after its turf course was replaced with a Polytrack synthetic surface in 2006. All of Kempton’s historic races have been transferred to the ‘all-weather’ including the Easter Stakes, Magnolia Stakes and Rosebery Handicap.

Flat Racing (All-Weather)
Jumps Racing

Kempton switched to an all-weather track in 2006 and the surface in use is polytrack. Kempton is a flat, oval-shaped course with two loops. The inner circuit, used for races over five, nine and ten furlongs is sharp and has a finishing straight of just under two furlongs, favouring the speedy, handy type, particularly over the minimum trip. The turn on the outer course is more sweeping and the straight is almost three furlongs, making for a more straightforward test. Over both five and six furlongs, there is a relatively short run to the first bend.

The way the track is prepared at Kempton can play a massive part in whether it suits front-runners or horses coming from behind. Most of the time, the going is officially rated ‘standard’ but I know, from having ridden in America, that all artificial surfaces are dependent on weather conditions. An inside draw is a big advantage on the round course, as you don’t want to be running wide, and there’s a tendency for jockeys to get going a long from home. My preference would be to use patient tactics.

View from the saddle: Jason Weaver

Right handed, flat. Very fair with relatively easy fences, the course characteristics having seemingly remained the same since the opening of the all-weather circuit. Can represent a much stiffer test of stamina than expected on soft/heavy going.

It’s changed a fair bit in recent years, with the Polytrack crossings and all, but I’d still have to say it’s one of my favourite courses. It’s a great test and a fair test. You need a horse that travels and jumps, though, and one of the things you always notice around Kempton is that lots of runners are usually in contention turning in, but those same horses are often well spaced out by the time they get to the last. It’s only a short run from the home turn to that obstacle, but only horses that are travelling well are able to take a breather on that section, while those that have been struggling are having to work too hard to last home.

View from the saddle: Mick Fitzgerald

Kempton Top Times
Last 5 years

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat
All Weather

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m	Mambonumberfive (Good)	27 Dec 2025	3m 45.51s
2m 2f	Fidelio Vallis (Good)	03 May 2021	4m 18.61s
2m 4f 110y	Barlovento (Good)	26 Dec 2025	4m 59.21s
3m	Karl Philippe (Good)	06 May 2024	4m 12.96s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m	Sir Gino (Good)	26 Dec 2025	3m 41.29s
2m 5f	Turndlightsdownlow (Good)	19 Oct 2025	4m 59s
3m 110y	Halifax (Good)	06 May 2024	5m 15.35s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m	Fine Shot (Good to Soft-Soft in places)	21 Feb 2026	3m 47.62s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
5f	Pablo Del Pueblo (Standard / Slow)	17 Jan 2023	59.32s
6f	Night Raider (Standard / Slow)	02 Oct 2024	1m 10.08s
7f	King Zain (Standard / Slow)	04 May 2022	1m 23.82s
1m	Zoffandia (Standard / Slow)	18 Feb 2026	1m 36.45s
1m 1f 219y	Gethin (Standard / Slow)	06 Apr 2026	2m 3.65s
1m 3f	Gamrai (Standard to Slow)	28 Mar 2026	2m 17.19s
1m 3f 219y	Shader (Standard / Slow)	03 Nov 2025	2m 29.45s
1m 7f 218y	Cool Party (Standard / Slow)	29 Mar 2025	3m 25.33s

Kempton 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
B Pauling	18	8	6	£325,964	44.44%	£22.79
N J Henderson	38	6	12	£116,881	15.79%	-£16.18
A King	20	6	10	£100,102	30%	£6.41
J Tizzard	35	5	18	£55,989	14.29%	-£12.13
P F Nicholls	42	4	17	£120,757	9.52%	-£26.13
O Murphy	14	4	7	£32,964	28.57%	-£3.91
T Lacey	11	4	2	£78,095	36.36%	£7.96
Jamie Snowden	8	4	2	£27,671	50%	£8.00
Dan Skelton	52	3	28	£86,778	5.77%	-£46.88
F O'Brien	12	3	5	£31,369	25%	£4.50

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
N J Henderson	58	20	19	£393,923	34.48%	£8.43
P F Nicholls	52	8	24	£156,490	15.38%	-£37.40
Dan Skelton	52	7	14	£127,206	13.46%	£0.23
Harry Derham	31	7	13	£95,562	22.58%	-£11.72
F O'Brien	31	7	11	£73,065	22.58%	-£10.13
A King	32	3	12	£17,427	9.38%	-£28.88
K C Bailey	17	3	9	£15,463	17.65%	-£1.55
T Lawes	8	3	4	£23,764	37.5%	£9.13
M Keighley	10	3	3	£14,407	30%	£0.70
G & J Moore	60	2	25	£15,315	3.33%	-£54.75

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
C Gordon	7	3	0	£8,169	42.86%	£10.50
A King	7	1	3	£2,723	14.29%	£4.00
B Pauling	6	1	2	£8,845	16.67%	-£3.25
N J Henderson	3	1	1	£2,723	33.33%	-£2.50
F O'Brien	3	1	1	£2,723	33.33%	-£1.25
Jamie Snowden	1	1	0	£8,845	100%	£9.00
H Fry	1	1	0	£2,723	100%	£5.00
K Burke	1	1	0	£7,804	100%	£40.00
Harry Derham	1	1	0	£2,722	100%	£1.75
Dan Skelton	6	0	4	£	0%	-£7.00

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
A M Balding	400	65	174	£509,250	16.25%	-£149.53
C Appleby	126	49	49	£437,101	38.89%	-£23.14
J & T Gosden	205	41	91	£374,770	20%	-£60.21
R M Beckett	197	37	73	£278,609	18.78%	-£51.06
R Hughes	180	37	62	£183,955	20.56%	£20.28
R Varian	160	33	65	£158,060	20.63%	-£48.16
J R Fanshawe	199	32	81	£242,387	16.08%	-£37.17
W J Haggas	160	28	58	£183,091	17.5%	-£38.07
C Johnston	226	25	88	£159,612	11.06%	-£48.28
R Hannon	299	24	108	£124,214	8.03%	-£137.38

Kempton 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
Ben Jones	21	9	8	£335,470	42.86%	£21.79
G Sheehan	17	7	6	£193,282	41.18%	£19.50
Brendan Powell	28	6	15	£67,607	21.43%	£0.38
Thomas Bellamy	25	5	12	£79,592	20%	-£8.22
N de Boinville	33	5	10	£90,866	15.15%	-£16.18
Tom Cannon	20	5	8	£109,587	25%	£2.98
H Cobden	44	4	19	£151,692	9.09%	-£14.13
J M Quinlan	8	4	3	£122,158	50%	£28.50
Stan Sheppard	12	4	2	£78,095	33.33%	£6.96
S Bowen	18	3	7	£32,213	16.67%	-£6.00

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
N de Boinville	36	14	11	£306,461	38.89%	-£7.12
H Cobden	55	8	28	£169,723	14.55%	-£37.53
Paul O'Brien	29	6	13	£90,661	20.69%	-£10.33
J J Burke	30	5	12	£62,862	16.67%	-£16.01
Harry Skelton	29	5	9	£70,275	17.24%	-£11.52
James Bowen	22	4	11	£71,091	18.18%	£10.55
S Bowen	17	4	7	£31,290	23.53%	-£2.55
Ben Jones	24	4	6	£77,144	16.67%	£10.50
David Bass	9	4	3	£20,364	44.44%	£13.20
Thomas Bellamy	33	3	12	£17,840	9.09%	-£24.21

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Rex Dingle	4	2	0	£5,446	50%	£9.00
G Sheehan	3	2	0	£16,649	66.67%	£48.00
Ben Jones	5	1	2	£8,845	20%	-£2.25
N de Boinville	4	1	1	£2,723	25%	-£2.50
Freddie Gordon	3	1	0	£2,723	33.33%	£1.50
J J Burke	3	1	0	£2,723	33.33%	-£0.25
Tom Cannon	2	1	0	£2,723	50%	£9.00
Bryan Carver	2	1	0	£2,723	50%	£4.00
Mr F Maguire	1	1	0	£2,722	100%	£2.75
Harry Skelton	5	0	4	£	0%	-£6.00

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Oisin Murphy	433	94	182	£692,340	21.71%	-£101.07
Billy Loughnane	371	58	129	£311,163	15.63%	-£55.71
Rossa Ryan	350	54	139	£291,958	15.43%	-£97.05
W Buick	152	52	53	£516,794	34.21%	-£27.78
Daniel Muscutt	361	48	124	£298,374	13.3%	-£118.09
H Crouch	264	47	85	£381,738	17.8%	-£30.58
Tom Marquand	229	38	78	£272,074	16.59%	-£18.61
K Shoemark	266	36	83	£211,802	13.53%	£39.19
J Mitchell	238	32	86	£160,690	13.45%	-£56.60
David Probert	252	30	82	£169,032	11.9%	-£5.57