Newbury Course Guide

One of the UK’s premier tracks, Newbury stages high-quality racing both on the Flat and over jumps and owes its popularity to a combination of factors, notably the very fair, galloping nature of the course, generally excellent ground and its proximity to the major training centre of Lambourn.

Its feature race is the Hennessy Gold Cup, usually run at the end of November, a handicap chase over three and a quarter miles that boasts a roll of honour which includes racing greats Mill House, Arkle, Burrough Hill Lad, One Man, Denman and Bobs Worth. The Saturday is the highlight of a three-day meeting which invariably attracts high-quality fields. The other feature meeting over jumps is the Betfair Hurdle fixture in mid-February, the feature race, a two-mile handicap hurdle, is always one of the big betting races of the winter and sits on a card that includes the Game Spirit Chase and Denman Chase, leading trials for Champion Chase and Gold Cup respectively.

On the Flat Newbury stages a Group 1 race in the form of the Lockinge Stakes, run in mid-May the one-mile contest has been won in the past by Brigadier Gerard, Kris, Selkirk, Hawk Wing, Canford Cliffs and Frankel. Other feature flat races include the Greenham Stakes in April, the Super Sprint in July and the Geoffrey Freer Stakes in August.

Flat Racing
Jumps Racing

Left handed, galloping. The straight mile course is undulating throughout. One of the fairest courses in the country, though its galloping nature makes it ideal for the big, long-striding type, and the track becomes testing in inclement weather. Whilst the majority of the action on the straight course usually takes place on the stand rail, those who choose to come down the centre of the track instead can find themselves at an advantage.

There aren’t many fairer courses than Newbury, which is big and galloping, but, probably due to the woodland on the far side, it can sometimes ride a good bit softer down the back straight than it does in the home straight. There’s very little draw bias on the straight track and there’s no wonder so many trainers want to send their classy horses there. The one tricky start is the one up in the spur (the round 1m) and that can prove draw-dependent. Otherwise, you get very few hard-luck stories at Newbury.

View from the saddle: Jason Weaver

Left handed, galloping with few undulations. One of the fairest courses in the country, though its galloping nature does suit the big, long-striding type. The chase course is regarded as being fairly stiff, though the low casualty rate over recent seasons contradicts such a view; the fact that many races are run at a steady pace possibly contributes to such a low figure, as does the generally better standard of horse on show. Leaders are rarely overhauled on the chase run-in for all it often looks as though they might be, especially from the elbow.

It’s among the fairest courses in the country and you get few hard-luck stories. There’s plenty of time during a race, with two very long straights and two sweeping bends, and you don’t often get too much shimmying or jockeying for position. If you’ve got the right horse, everything seems to happen nice and smoothly. The fences are very fair and, although the cross-fence used to claim a lot of victims, it’s nowhere near as bad now. Newbury is a great place for a novice and, unlike Cheltenham say, where the fences can be tricky for inexperienced horses, it’s really straightforward.

View from the saddle: Mick Fitzgerald

Newbury Top Times
Last 5 years

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat
Flat

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 92y	Imperial Presence (Good to Soft)	25 Mar 2017	3m 57.6s
2m 2f 64y	Johnny Og (Soft)	05 Mar 2016	4m 55.4s
2m 3f 187y	Thomas Crapper (Soft)	04 Mar 2017	4m 16.25s
2m 6f 93y	Cap Du Nord (Good)	28 Nov 2020	5m 28.65s
2m 7f 86y	Next Destination (Good)	28 Nov 2020	5m 43s
3m 1f 214y	Cloth Cap (Good)	28 Nov 2020	6m 21.1s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 69y	Our Power (Soft)	19 Dec 2018	3m 22.8s
2m 2f 183y	Deauville Crystal (Good to Soft)	25 Mar 2017	4m 30.5s
2m 4f 118y	The Cashel Man (Good to Soft)	30 Nov 2019	4m 49.1s
3m 52y	Hill Sixteen (Good)	27 Nov 2020	5m 53.85s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
1m 4f 143y	Midnight Ginger (Soft)	18 Dec 2019	3m 2.7s
2m 69y	Bullionaire (Good to Soft)	25 Mar 2017	3m 44.9s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
5f 34y	Lazuli (Good)	19 Sep 2020	58.4s
6f	Alkumait (Good)	19 Sep 2020	1m 9.7s
6f 110y	Aardwolf (Good to Firm)	09 Jun 2016	1m 18.7s
7f	Stage Magic (Good to Soft)	21 Jul 2017	1m 13.4s
1m	Rhododendron (Good to Firm)	19 May 2018	1m 35.07s
1m 1f	Kismet Hardy (Good to Firm)	12 Aug 2016	1m 56.05s
1m 2f	Global Giant (Good)	19 Jul 2020	2m 4.58s
1m 3f	Desert Encounter (Good)	23 Sep 2017	2m 17.91s
1m 4f	Teodoro (Good to Firm)	26 Jun 2018	2m 28.61s
1m 5f 61y	The Graduate (Good to Firm)	12 Aug 2016	2m 48.87s
2m	Kleitomachos (Good to Firm)	23 Aug 2016	3m 32.37s
2m 110y	Stratum Albion (Good to Firm)	21 Jul 2018	3m 32.57s
2m 2f	Sweet Selection (Good to Firm)	15 Jul 2016	3m 55.59s

Newbury 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	51	9	18	£247,481	17.65%	-£8.29
N J Henderson	37	9	11	£150,033	24.32%	-£4.71
P F Nicholls	32	6	15	£120,572	18.75%	£7.38
P J Hobbs	35	5	16	£51,962	14.29%	-£14.88
Miss V Williams	13	3	5	£50,747	23.08%	£6.50
N P Mulholland	15	3	4	£35,013	20%	£12.00
W Greatrex	13	3	4	£37,466	23.08%	£2.13
Richard Hobson	7	3	1	£25,304	42.86%	£2.95
Mrs J Harrington	3	3	0	£43,068	100%	£3.90
D Skelton	32	2	14	£56,304	6.25%	-£15.00

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
N J Henderson	91	27	29	£258,250	29.67%	£18.21
P J Hobbs	40	10	8	£112,242	25%	£41.17
P F Nicholls	35	9	13	£167,447	25.71%	£20.50
D Skelton	50	4	16	£50,332	8%	-£21.17
D Pipe	24	4	10	£41,325	16.67%	£4.33
N A Twiston-Davies	20	4	4	£25,314	20%	-£2.90
A King	58	3	22	£21,870	5.17%	-£40.75
Jonjo O'Neill	27	3	7	£33,078	11.11%	-£0.50
O Sherwood	16	3	4	£22,483	18.75%	£4.50
Tom Lacey	13	3	2	£23,932	23.08%	£3.75

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Ben Pauling	11	3	0	£6,822	27.27%	£3.00
N J Henderson	13	2	5	£4,938	15.38%	-£2.50
P F Nicholls	6	2	2	£4,873	33.33%	£0.00
Harry Fry	4	2	0	£59,010	50%	£0.83
A King	19	1	6	£2,274	5.26%	-£12.00
D Skelton	6	1	3	£2,339	16.67%	-£5.50
A J Honeyball	3	1	1	£11,390	33.33%	£3.50
P R Webber	3	1	0	£11,390	33.33%	£38.00
M R Channon	1	1	0	£2,274	100%	£2.50
R A Teal	1	1	0	£11,390	100%	£3.50

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
R Hannon	259	28	79	£437,559	10.81%	-£64.20
W J Haggas	110	23	40	£301,342	20.91%	-£7.13
J H M Gosden	94	23	38	£232,686	24.47%	-£13.64
R Charlton	89	16	24	£205,917	17.98%	£35.53
R Varian	91	14	39	£152,980	15.38%	-£17.11
A M Balding	136	13	53	£136,840	9.56%	£108.65
M Johnston	60	9	17	£144,957	15%	-£24.19
Ed Walker	83	8	37	£77,828	9.64%	-£46.38
R M Beckett	85	8	25	£66,847	9.41%	-£37.47
Sir Michael Stoute	51	8	22	£411,764	15.69%	-£25.92

Newbury 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	37	10	12	£130,665	27.03%	£4.98
H Cobden	32	7	14	£98,359	21.88%	-£4.54
T Scudamore	23	6	3	£297,072	26.09%	£23.50
Nico de Boinville	25	4	8	£86,748	16%	-£18.46
Jonjo O'Neill Jr.	17	4	3	£53,064	23.53%	-£0.90
R M Power	20	3	9	£43,068	15%	-£14.10
Charlie Deutsch	10	3	4	£50,747	30%	£9.50
Harry Skelton	24	2	11	£56,304	8.33%	-£7.00
J E Moore	13	2	7	£20,820	15.38%	£2.50
Adam Wedge	16	2	5	£14,686	12.5%	-£1.00

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Nico de Boinville	50	14	13	£88,810	28%	£8.22
R Johnson	44	10	8	£130,624	22.73%	£16.17
H Cobden	38	8	12	£162,417	21.05%	£19.80
B J Geraghty	12	6	5	£83,241	50%	£8.28
Sam Twiston-Davies	27	5	4	£29,863	18.52%	-£3.90
T Scudamore	29	4	14	£38,336	13.79%	-£6.92
Wayne Hutchinson	26	3	11	£21,870	11.54%	-£7.75
Harry Skelton	28	3	10	£27,552	10.71%	-£7.17
Aidan Coleman	24	3	9	£82,942	12.5%	-£15.97
Jonjo O'Neill Jr.	27	3	7	£33,078	11.11%	£0.50

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Nico de Boinville	13	2	4	£4,613	15.38%	-£5.00
N D Fehily	4	2	0	£59,010	50%	£0.83
Aidan Coleman	8	1	3	£11,390	12.5%	-£4.50
G Sheehan	9	1	2	£11,390	11.11%	£32.00
Sam Twiston-Davies	7	1	2	£2,274	14.29%	£0.00
H Cobden	7	1	2	£2,274	14.29%	-£3.50
Thomas Bellamy	3	1	1	£2,274	33.33%	£4.00
David Bass	3	1	1	£2,274	33.33%	£3.50
Bridget Andrews	3	1	1	£2,339	33.33%	-£0.50
D A Jacob	4	1	0	£2,274	25%	-£1.00

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
James Doyle	139	33	46	£392,518	23.74%	£19.57
Jason Watson	135	22	39	£234,881	16.3%	£18.03
Oisin Murphy	163	21	60	£187,774	12.88%	-£42.47
Jim Crowley	162	21	42	£558,321	12.96%	£9.81
S De Sousa	99	16	24	£383,904	16.16%	£10.87
Andrea Atzeni	119	14	50	£199,195	11.76%	-£23.11
R L Moore	107	14	43	£466,619	13.08%	-£50.69
L Dettori	46	12	14	£194,330	26.09%	-£11.86
Tom Marquand	105	10	32	£53,449	9.52%	-£29.40
W Buick	58	10	20	£150,060	17.24%	-£0.88