Newcastle Course Guide

Located at Gosforth Park to the north of the city, Newcastle Racecourse has staged racing since 1882 and hosts major races both on the flat and over jumps. Over the autumn and winter of 2015/16 the course will undergo an £11m redevelopment which will see a new all-weather surface replace the Flat turf track.

The highlight of Newcastle’s year is the Northumberland Plate meeting in June, a three-day fixture that also includes the Gosforth Park Cup and the Chipchase Stakes. Those races are both valuable sprints while the ‘Plate’ – also known as the Pitmens’ Derby – is a two-mile handicap and often billed as a Northern Hemisphere Melbourne Cup.

Over jumps Newcastle stages a Grade 1 contest in the shape of the Fighting Fifth Hurdle – a race which, along with the Christmas and Champion Hurdles forms a ‘Triple Crown’ of top two-mile hurdle races in the UK. Certainly, past winners of the Fighting Fifth are a who’s who of hurdling champions including Comedy Of Errors, Night Nurse, Sea Pigeon, Kribensis, Beech Road and Punjabi plus the aforementioned Overturn, who figures on the roll of honour for both of Gosforth Park’s famous races having won the ‘Plate’ in 2010 and the ‘Fighting Fifth’ the following year.

Flat Racing
Jumps Racing

Left-handed, oval. Newcastle switched from turf to all-weather during the winter of 2015/16, and like Wolverhampton, the surface it uses is Tapeta. It differs from the majority of the all-weather tracks in that as well as a round course, it has a floodlit straight mile.

It’s a massive advantage to get anywhere near the fence in races on the round course at Newcastle, especially in an event like the Northumberland Plate, because the turns are long and, if you’re more than three or four deep, you’re forfeiting loads of ground. You need to be on a very good one to win from a wide berth. There’s a bit of a run off on the round track, too, where the ground tends to fall away from you quite steeply towards the initial bend. It’s a very fair track, though, beautiful to ride.

View from the saddle: Jason Weaver

Left handed, galloping with a steady uphill rise from the home turn. Stiff nature often results in steadily-run affairs, especially on the hurdles course, many races really beginning in earnest only once in line for home. As such, races often fail to represent the test of stamina they might, whilst this probably also explains a lower-than-expected casualty rate over fences. A position towards the stand rail can be an advantage in the home straight, and it's no coincidence that's where the senior northern jockeys usually head.

I’ve always rated Newcastle among the best tracks in Britain. The fences take a bit of jumping, but they provide a very fair test and, from a jockeys standpoint, I would put it right up there with the likes of Newbury. Those two courses ride very much the same and, while they’re both pretty flat, you need to be on one that stays if you want to get home, both over hurdles and in chases. It’s a long way from the turn in to the winning line and, because it’s quite open, it asks questions about a horse’s stamina.

View from the saddle: Mick Fitzgerald

Newcastle Top Times
Last 5 years

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat
Flat
All Weather

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 75y	Free Range (Good)	16 Nov 2018	4m 2.35s
2m 4f 19y	Rear Admiral (Good)	17 Nov 2017	5m 0.5s
2m 7f 91y	Special Prep (Good to Soft)	28 Mar 2019	5m 56.1s
4m 122y	Crosspark (Good to Soft)	23 Feb 2019	8m 30.63s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 98y	Weather Front (Good)	16 Nov 2018	3m 49.15s
2m 4f 133y	Mary Eleanor (Good)	17 Nov 2017	4m 58.1s
2m 6f	Diger Daudaie (Good to Soft)	13 Dec 2018	5m 31.7s
3m 10y	Chu Chu Percy (Good)	17 Nov 2017	5m 42.7s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 56y	On The Rox (Slow)	24 Feb 2018	3m 37.2s
1m 6f 139y	Lossiemouth (Soft)	22 Dec 2018	3m 33.9s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
5f	Astraea (Standard)	15 Dec 2018	57.78s
6f	Unabated (Standard)	22 Mar 2017	1m 9.86s
7f 14y	Devil's Angel (Standard)	31 Jan 2019	1m 20.79s
1m 5y	Alfred Richardson (Standard)	09 Nov 2018	1m 36.1s
1m 2f 42y	Palisade (Standard)	16 Oct 2016	2m 4.88s
1m 4f 98y	Ajman Prince (Standard)	14 Oct 2016	2m 36.76s
1m 6f 97y	Wor Lass (Good)	06 Aug 2015	3m 11.33s
2m 19y	Rock On Bollinski (Good to Soft)	04 Sep 2015	3m 34.91s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 56y	Dannyday (Standard)	25 Jun 2016	3m 29.87s

Newcastle 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
Mrs S J Smith	30	6	13	£36,915	20%	-£7.92
N W Alexander	26	5	9	£65,273	19.23%	£8.75
J P L Ewart	17	5	8	£37,689	29.41%	-£5.00
N G Richards	20	4	8	£101,870	20%	£19.38
I Jardine	8	4	2	£30,295	50%	£17.95
Rebecca Menzies	12	3	5	£18,000	25%	£5.00
A M Thomson	13	3	4	£16,116	23.08%	£15.00
Miss S E Forster	9	3	4	£15,921	33.33%	£9.38
M W Easterby	6	3	2	£16,310	50%	£15.50
Miss Lucinda V Russell	26	2	13	£8,773	7.69%	-£20.50

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
P A Kirby	31	6	9	£27,025	19.35%	£6.50
Micky Hammond	22	6	8	£80,812	27.27%	£17.00
Mrs S J Smith	20	5	12	£30,102	25%	£0.78
Miss Lucinda V Russell	32	5	10	£29,343	15.63%	-£11.13
N J Henderson	6	5	1	£144,458	83.33%	£1.73
D W Whillans	21	4	11	£16,051	19.05%	-£12.46
Oliver Greenall	12	4	4	£16,376	33.33%	£0.96
K Dalgleish	11	4	4	£18,806	36.36%	£42.10
N G Richards	17	3	9	£10,982	17.65%	-£14.55
J P L Ewart	25	3	6	£10,137	12%	-£8.50

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
B Ellison	18	7	7	£23,392	38.89%	£2.04
Rebecca Menzies	17	2	8	£7,148	11.76%	£5.50
K Dalgleish	12	2	7	£3,834	16.67%	-£7.17
N G Richards	10	2	6	£4,548	20%	-£4.25
Tom Lacey	4	2	2	£4,548	50%	£6.00
Sally Haynes	3	2	0	£3,834	66.67%	£18.00
P D Niven	3	2	0	£4,548	66.67%	£10.00
K R Burke	2	2	0	£4,490	100%	£3.32
P A Kirby	24	1	9	£3,249	4.17%	-£21.50
Micky Hammond	12	1	6	£2,274	8.33%	-£9.50

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
R A Fahey	389	49	136	£251,874	12.6%	-£29.97
J S Goldie	302	38	103	£158,435	12.58%	£29.29
J H M Gosden	100	37	39	£186,144	37%	-£1.26
B M R Haslam	222	33	72	£116,979	14.86%	£67.96
M Johnston	267	27	103	£170,419	10.11%	-£66.93
Antony Brittain	223	26	70	£100,853	11.66%	-£23.95
W J Haggas	67	24	26	£118,636	35.82%	£11.60
R Varian	93	23	46	£123,598	24.73%	-£24.61
K R Burke	205	21	73	£136,370	10.24%	£36.24
B Ellison	208	20	73	£84,316	9.62%	-£47.84

Newcastle 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
B S Hughes	35	8	18	£62,113	22.86%	-£12.13
Danny Cook	32	6	16	£36,915	18.75%	-£11.92
Sean Quinlan	28	4	13	£63,532	14.29%	£15.57
Henry Brooke	21	3	8	£51,497	14.29%	-£6.13
Jamie Hamilton	27	3	7	£14,361	11.11%	-£8.00
C O'Farrell	15	3	6	£18,000	20%	-£0.63
Harry Bannister	7	3	2	£16,310	42.86%	£14.50
S Mulqueen	12	2	8	£10,657	16.67%	-£3.00
R D Day	15	2	6	£57,391	13.33%	£0.50
Ross Chapman	14	2	5	£7,213	14.29%	-£4.50

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
B S Hughes	47	11	19	£49,941	23.4%	-£2.90
Danny Cook	30	5	14	£30,102	16.67%	-£10.22
Craig Nichol	23	5	11	£30,725	21.74%	£32.00
Thomas Dowson	26	5	6	£22,411	19.23%	£20.50
Ross Chapman	35	4	13	£12,606	11.43%	-£7.09
Henry Brooke	29	4	10	£74,179	13.79%	-£1.38
Jamie Hamilton	28	4	7	£14,751	14.29%	-£9.78
D R Fox	15	4	3	£26,224	26.67%	£4.38
B J Geraghty	6	4	1	£140,884	66.67%	£0.61
Joe Colliver	11	3	6	£29,277	27.27%	£9.50

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Henry Brooke	16	7	2	£18,785	43.75%	£12.27
B S Hughes	30	5	14	£11,631	16.67%	-£7.42
Danny Cook	14	5	6	£16,894	35.71%	£9.09
Nathan Moscrop	12	3	4	£7,083	25%	£13.50
G Lee	5	2	1	£4,873	40%	£19.50
Dale Irving	6	2	0	£5,523	33.33%	£28.00
Ross Chapman	19	1	6	£2,274	5.26%	-£18.09
C O'Farrell	12	1	5	£3,899	8.33%	£5.00
Joe Colliver	7	1	4	£2,274	14.29%	£0.50
A Nicol	5	1	2	£3,249	20%	-£2.50

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
B A Curtis	337	70	111	£414,406	20.77%	£81.93
P J McDonald	389	47	154	£267,090	12.08%	-£101.03
J Fanning	307	44	108	£234,972	14.33%	-£3.34
A Mullen	395	38	112	£139,913	9.62%	-£35.42
D Tudhope	205	38	88	£196,756	18.54%	-£47.92
Callum Rodriguez	227	37	65	£172,128	16.3%	£20.31
Phil Dennis	315	28	89	£104,712	8.89%	£23.73
Jason Hart	289	28	72	£102,511	9.69%	-£90.42
Cam Hardie	384	27	91	£106,481	7.03%	-£71.45
R Havlin	85	26	35	£122,808	30.59%	-£16.85