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	Bluey (Good)	19 Oct 2025	4m 18.95s
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	37	6	12	£116,881	16.22%	-£15.18
A King	20	6	10	£100,102	30%	£6.41
P F Nicholls	40	4	17	£120,757	10%	-£23.13
J Tizzard	31	4	17	£44,688	12.9%	-£10.75
O Murphy	14	4	7	£32,964	28.57%	-£3.91
Jamie Snowden	8	4	2	£27,671	50%	£8.00
T Lacey	10	4	1	£78,095	40%	£8.96
Dan Skelton	50	3	27	£86,778	6%	-£43.88
F O'Brien	11	3	5	£31,369	27.27%	£5.50

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
N J Henderson	52	19	17	£389,566	36.54%	£14.52
P F Nicholls	51	8	24	£156,490	15.69%	-£35.40
Dan Skelton	51	7	14	£127,206	13.73%	£1.23
Harry Derham	30	7	12	£95,562	23.33%	-£10.72
F O'Brien	26	5	10	£62,318	19.23%	-£12.13
A King	31	3	12	£17,427	9.68%	-£27.88
K C Bailey	16	3	8	£15,463	18.75%	-£0.55
M Keighley	10	3	3	£14,407	30%	£0.70
T Lawes	7	3	3	£23,764	42.86%	£10.13
G & J Moore	56	2	24	£15,315	3.57%	-£48.75

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
K Burke	1	1	0	£7,804	100%	£40.00
H Fry	1	1	0	£2,723	100%	£5.00
Jamie Snowden	1	1	0	£8,845	100%	£9.00
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	401	67	176	£516,577	16.71%	-£136.23
C Appleby	125	49	49	£437,101	39.2%	-£22.14
J & T Gosden	205	42	89	£382,978	20.49%	-£61.55
R Hughes	184	37	63	£185,035	20.11%	£6.13
R M Beckett	196	36	72	£272,328	18.37%	-£58.06
J R Fanshawe	202	32	83	£242,387	15.84%	-£40.17
R Varian	158	32	63	£148,775	20.25%	-£46.35
W J Haggas	160	30	56	£193,891	18.75%	-£31.87
G Boughey	147	25	46	£150,398	17.01%	-£40.13
C Johnston	228	24	90	£155,940	10.53%	-£58.28

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	16	7	6	£193,282	43.75%	£20.50
Brendan Powell	24	5	13	£56,306	20.83%	£1.75
N de Boinville	32	5	10	£90,866	15.63%	-£15.18
Thomas Bellamy	23	5	10	£79,592	21.74%	-£6.22
Tom Cannon	20	5	8	£109,587	25%	£2.98
H Cobden	41	4	19	£151,692	9.76%	-£10.13
Stan Sheppard	10	4	1	£78,095	40%	£8.96
S Bowen	18	3	7	£32,213	16.67%	-£6.00
J M Quinlan	6	3	2	£106,549	50%	£21.50

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
N de Boinville	33	13	10	£302,104	39.39%	-£4.03
H Cobden	54	8	28	£169,723	14.81%	-£36.53
Paul O'Brien	28	6	12	£90,661	21.43%	-£9.33
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%	£11.50
David Bass	8	4	2	£20,364	50%	£14.20
Thomas Bellamy	30	3	11	£17,840	10%	-£21.21

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
Bryan Carver	2	1	0	£2,723	50%	£4.00
Tom Cannon	2	1	0	£2,723	50%	£9.00
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	435	95	186	£696,510	21.84%	-£98.52
Billy Loughnane	369	61	129	£331,090	16.53%	-£43.72
Rossa Ryan	353	54	140	£293,138	15.3%	-£101.71
W Buick	146	52	52	£516,794	35.62%	-£21.78
Daniel Muscutt	369	48	127	£299,587	13.01%	-£126.74
H Crouch	266	47	85	£381,738	17.67%	-£32.58
Tom Marquand	222	39	74	£277,474	17.57%	-£6.61
K Shoemark	273	37	83	£215,989	13.55%	£37.52
J Mitchell	242	33	87	£164,370	13.64%	-£56.42
David Probert	254	29	80	£165,892	11.42%	-£15.57