Ripon Course Guide

Racing takes place at the North Yorkshire track throughout the summer with two distinct highlights, the Great St Wilfrid Stakes and the Ripon Champion Two year Old Trophy.

The Great St Wilfrid Stakes is a valuable sprint handicap run over six furlongs for three-year-olds and upwards and takes place in mid-August. The richest race staged at the North Yorkshire venue, the handicap has established itself as a milestone in the flat season and serves as a potential stepping stone to the Ayr Gold Cup.

Trainers David O’Meara and Richard Fahey have dominated the race in recent years, between them winning all five renewals from 2011-2015.

Ripon’s other feature race is the Listed Ripon Champion Two year Old Trophy, which takes place on August Bank Holiday Monday, and is run over six furlongs.

Flat Racing

A right-handed, oval circuit of thirteen furlongs, with a run-in of five furlongs, and a straight six-furlong course. Owing to the rather cramped bends and the surface undulations in the straight, the Ripon track is rather sharp in character.

In good conditions, Ripon is a front-runner’s course. There’s a ridge about a furlong and a half out, from where you can kick on and, if you can get away at that point, you’ll be very hard to beat. It’s a track that can give the impression of being bowling-green flat but, believe me, it’s not at all and a lot of horses get lost around there. On the sprint course, up against the stands’ side rail is the place to be, ideal for fast horses. They’ve worked hard on the round track latterly – and most horses handle it nicely.

View from the saddle: Jason Weaver

Ripon Top Times
Last 5 years

Flat

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
5f	Zayer (Good to Firm)	27 Aug 2024	57.11s
6f	Justanotherbottle (Good)	16 Jun 2022	1m 9.04s
1m	Artistic Rifles (Good to Firm)	24 Apr 2021	1m 37.15s
1m 1f 170y	Claim The Crown (Good)	04 Jul 2022	2m 0.48s
1m 2f 190y	Rogue Sea (Good to Firm)	07 Jun 2023	2m 17.5s
1m 4f 10y	Pendragon (Good)	19 Jun 2025	2m 31.21s
1m 6f	Lord Caprio (Good to Soft)	01 Aug 2022	3m 2.59s
2m	Ghadbbaan (Good)	24 Sep 2022	3m 28.43s

Ripon Top Trainers
Last 3 years (ordered by number of winners)

Flat

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
T D Easterby	361	33	133	£205,441	9.14%	-£148.88
D O'Meara	127	16	56	£107,587	12.6%	-£46.77
R A Fahey	119	16	43	£169,130	13.45%	-£10.42
W J Haggas	33	13	15	£93,311	39.39%	-£9.78
K R Burke	66	12	28	£59,776	18.18%	-£2.43
M Walford	47	10	17	£60,014	21.28%	£33.33
C Johnston	90	9	39	£61,614	10%	-£43.85
P T Midgley	83	9	29	£51,498	10.84%	-£43.12
A Keatley	48	9	20	£48,073	18.75%	-£4.58
Grant Tuer	73	8	23	£93,697	10.96%	-£21.13

Ripon Top Jockeys
Last 3 years (ordered by number of winners)

Flat

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
D Allan	194	21	75	£122,117	10.82%	-£68.17
D Tudhope	61	18	23	£134,364	29.51%	-£18.49
Jason Hart	100	15	42	£99,450	15%	-£32.17
D Nolan	99	15	32	£110,375	15.15%	-£10.08
S H James	77	13	33	£124,061	16.88%	-£3.56
J Fanning	60	12	33	£74,064	20%	£10.90
Callum Rodriguez	56	12	18	£81,097	21.43%	-£13.70
P Mulrennan	50	10	20	£75,151	20%	-£7.46
O J Orr	60	8	25	£96,668	13.33%	-£15.25
J P Sullivan	66	7	24	£49,014	10.61%	£9.00