Wetherby Course Guide

Having raced as a jumps-only venue for most of its history, Wetherby became a dual-purpose track in 2015 when its first flat fixture took place on 26 April. The course staged Flat fixtures throughout the early spring and summer in 2015, with the track having a break until the return of jumps racing in October.

Wetherby’s feature meeting is the late October / early November fixture which stars the Grade 2 Charlie Hall Chase. The Grade 2 contest is the first quality three-mile chase of the season and its roll of honour includes some of the great long distance chasers including Wayward Lad, Burrough Hill Lad, One Man and See More Business.

Supporting races on the card include the West Yorkshire Hurdle – won in 2014 by future champion Cole Harden – and the Wetherby Mares’ Hurdle, whilst other significant races staged at the track are the Rowland Meyrick Chase at Christmas and the Towton Novices’ Chase in February.

Flat Racing
Jumps Racing

Left-handed, the Flat course shares the hurdles course and is approximately a mile and a half in circumference. There is no straight sprint track, and because of the bends, 5½ furlong races start on a chute near the end of the back straight.

I’ve been taking a keen interest in Wetherby since it was given the green light to stage Flat racing and it looks good, a smashing track. The jockeys who’ve ridden it give it the thumbs-up and it seems you need to be handy. A prominent style of racing looks the best sort to employ, with aggressive tactics generally appearing to pay off. The jumps course has long had a reputation for being sharp, suiting speedy horses who like to be close to the pace, and that certainly seems to be the case for the Flat races so far.

View from the saddle: Jason Weaver

Left handed, galloping. Now restored to nine fences to a circuit, though the four in the home straight have been switched to the inside of the hurdles track after problems caused by the realignment of the nearby A1. The signs are the fences still punish those who aren't accurate. It's a very fair test for any horse but is ideal for the free-running, long-striding sort.

It usually pays to be handy when riding at Wetherby, because it’s a quick track, even more so since the changes caused by the A1 redevelopment a few years back. There was a time when some trainers thought the fences were tough for a novice, but that has changed dramatically now and it’s a very fair course, with lovely obstacles, nowhere near as stiff as in the ‘old days’. Ideally, you’d like to save a bit for your finishing kick, but you certainly can’t afford to give any front-runners an easy time of it.

View from the saddle: Mick Fitzgerald

Wetherby Top Times
Last 5 years

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat
Flat

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
1m 7f 36y	Theflyingportrait (Good)	17 Oct 2018	3m 37.4s
2m 3f 85y	Lough Derg Spirit (Good)	17 Oct 2018	4m 41s
2m 5f 75y	Rosquero (Good)	04 May 2016	5m 19.1s
3m 45y	Definitly Red (Good)	03 Nov 2018	5m 58.1s
3m 2f 144y	Nortonthorpelegend (Good to Soft)	04 Jan 2019	7m 15.6s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m	Innocent Touch (Good)	17 Oct 2018	3m 38s
2m 3f 154y	Theatrebar (Good)	29 Mar 2019	4m 47.4s
2m 5f 56y	Ivy Gate (Good to Soft)	22 Mar 2016	5m 1s
3m 26y	Monbeg Theatre (Good)	17 Oct 2018	5m 36.9s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
1m 4f 77y	Conchita (Soft)	08 Dec 2018	2m 58.85s
2m	Sheshoon Sonny (Soft)	19 Mar 2019	3m 42.86s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
5f 110y	Dapper Man (Good to Firm)	19 Jun 2017	1m 4.25s
7f	Slemy (Good to Firm)	17 May 2016	1m 25.25s
1m	Savaanah (Good to Firm)	22 Jun 2018	1m 38.47s
1m 1f	Just Be Lucky (Good)	24 May 2016	1m 54.93s
1m 2f	Alfred Richardson (Good to Firm)	22 Jun 2018	2m 7.04s
1m 6f	Davy's Dilemma (Good to Firm)	19 Jun 2017	3m 0.41s
2m	Maid In Manhattan (Good to Firm)	30 May 2019	3m 29.64s

Wetherby 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
N A Twiston-Davies	28	6	7	£104,107	21.43%	-£9.75
D Skelton	36	5	17	£48,926	13.89%	-£16.34
P A Kirby	23	5	4	£48,306	21.74%	-£7.25
K C Bailey	16	5	4	£53,462	31.25%	-£2.87
Dr R D P Newland	12	5	2	£50,078	41.67%	£5.60
Mrs S J Smith	44	3	21	£28,982	6.82%	-£31.50
Micky Hammond	46	3	20	£12,674	6.52%	-£8.00
B Ellison	24	3	15	£71,181	12.5%	-£10.00
C E Longsdon	16	3	7	£20,989	18.75%	-£6.75
Rebecca Menzies	16	2	5	£10,699	12.5%	-£9.50

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
D Skelton	65	21	28	£130,471	32.31%	£6.42
P A Kirby	87	13	20	£95,301	14.94%	-£0.63
Micky Hammond	103	5	31	£22,029	4.85%	-£48.50
Ruth Jefferson	20	5	5	£23,069	25%	£24.15
F O'Brien	17	4	6	£16,051	23.53%	-£3.88
W Greatrex	12	4	4	£17,286	33.33%	-£0.17
Mrs P Sly	12	4	4	£22,548	33.33%	£8.00
T R George	9	4	2	£47,397	44.44%	£7.50
D McCain Jnr	40	3	15	£12,026	7.5%	-£20.63
Jonjo O'Neill	28	3	14	£14,036	10.71%	-£11.67

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
F O'Brien	6	2	3	£5,686	33.33%	£0.10
C E Longsdon	4	2	1	£5,523	50%	£6.75
Jamie Snowden	5	1	2	£3,087	20%	£12.00
A King	3	1	2	£2,599	33.33%	-£1.38
K C Bailey	4	1	1	£2,729	25%	-£1.13
Jedd O'Keeffe	3	1	1	£3,087	33.33%	£3.00
S R B Crawford	2	1	1	£2,924	50%	£4.50
Jonjo O'Neill	2	1	1	£2,599	50%	£5.00
Mrs P Sly	3	1	0	£2,924	33.33%	-£1.67
J P L Ewart	2	1	0	£2,599	50%	£3.50

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
J H M Gosden	9	4	4	£17,660	44.44%	-£1.21
R A Fahey	19	4	3	£22,060	21.05%	£22.50
D O'Meara	18	3	5	£13,002	16.67%	-£9.39
D Carroll	11	3	2	£14,426	27.27%	£16.00
T D Easterby	29	2	11	£8,280	6.9%	-£7.00
R G Fell	12	2	5	£10,091	16.67%	-£1.00
W J Haggas	7	2	2	£30,404	28.57%	£3.50
R Charlton	4	2	2	£13,456	50%	£3.38
Rebecca Menzies	4	2	2	£7,568	50%	£34.00
K A Ryan	6	2	1	£14,750	33.33%	£7.50

Wetherby 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	42	8	25	£50,557	19.05%	£0.26
Sean Quinlan	28	8	9	£63,356	28.57%	£7.75
David Bass	16	5	4	£51,642	31.25%	£4.30
Harry Skelton	24	4	11	£32,681	16.67%	-£11.34
Sam Twiston-Davies	20	4	5	£78,912	20%	-£9.75
C O'Farrell	13	3	5	£15,076	23.08%	£25.25
R D Day	14	3	3	£27,286	21.43%	£3.00
Danny Cook	40	2	23	£61,759	5%	-£32.00
Henry Brooke	21	2	11	£38,288	9.52%	-£15.25
J J Burke	14	2	7	£15,985	14.29%	-£0.50

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Harry Skelton	54	19	24	£120,139	35.19%	-£0.58
B S Hughes	63	8	19	£43,477	12.7%	-£40.63
Jamie Hamilton	59	6	16	£26,123	10.17%	£1.40
Thomas Dowson	50	6	11	£47,278	12%	-£25.63
Sean Quinlan	46	5	17	£19,761	10.87%	£15.00
A Nicol	26	5	5	£39,834	19.23%	-£5.17
Joe Colliver	38	4	14	£21,509	10.53%	-£0.50
Kielan Woods	18	4	9	£20,924	22.22%	£3.50
J J Burke	10	4	2	£23,813	40%	£7.25
D A Jacob	10	4	2	£35,440	40%	£7.25

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
C O'Farrell	4	2	1	£5,523	50%	£8.00
G Sheehan	7	1	4	£3,087	14.29%	£10.00
P J Brennan	4	1	2	£3,087	25%	£0.00
Joe Colliver	4	1	2	£3,087	25%	£1.00
R P McLernon	3	1	2	£2,599	33.33%	£4.00
David Bass	3	1	1	£2,729	33.33%	-£0.13
Aidan Coleman	3	1	1	£2,599	33.33%	£0.25
Wayne Hutchinson	2	1	1	£2,599	50%	-£0.38
Sam Twiston-Davies	3	1	0	£2,599	33.33%	-£1.50
C Gethings	3	1	0	£2,599	33.33%	£6.00

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
D Tudhope	15	4	6	£17,530	26.67%	-£2.89
B A Curtis	22	4	2	£38,306	18.18%	-£1.50
P Hanagan	15	3	5	£16,367	20%	£7.50
R Havlin	6	3	3	£12,873	50%	£0.79
J Garritty	13	3	2	£15,008	23.08%	£8.00
J P Sullivan	17	2	6	£8,280	11.76%	£2.50
Cam Hardie	17	2	4	£7,568	11.76%	£0.50
T Eaves	9	2	1	£14,750	22.22%	£4.50
L P Keniry	5	2	1	£8,460	40%	£19.00
G C O'Neill	3	2	0	£9,574	66.67%	£11.00