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	Nikos Extra (Good)	15 Oct 2014	3m 41.2s
2m 3f 85y	Lough Derg Spirit (Good)	17 Oct 2018	4m 41s
2m 4f 110y	Foundation Man (Good)	15 Oct 2014	4m 48.9s
2m 5f 75y	Rosquero (Good)	04 May 2016	5m 19.1s
2m 6f 110y	Everylasting (Good)	28 May 2015	5m 22.7s
3m 45y	Definitly Red (Good)	03 Nov 2018	5m 58.1s
3m 1f	Menorah (Good)	01 Nov 2014	5m 49.15s
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 110y	Politeness (Good)	28 May 2015	3m 44.1s
2m 4f	Fort Worth (Good)	15 Oct 2014	4m 41.2s
2m 4f 110y	Chalk It Down (Good)	21 May 2015	4m 37.25s
2m 5f 56y	Ivy Gate (Good to Soft)	22 Mar 2016	5m 1s
2m 6f	Kaysersberg (Good)	15 Oct 2014	5m 3.8s
3m 26y	Monbeg Theatre (Good)	17 Oct 2018	5m 36.9s
3m 1f	Lilly's Legend (Good)	21 May 2015	5m 46.36s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
1m 4f 110y	Crockett (Soft)	06 Dec 2014	2m 58.63s
2m	Sheshoon Sonny (Soft)	19 Mar 2019	3m 42.86s
2m 110y	Shantou Village (Good)	27 Mar 2015	3m 46.3s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
5f 110y	Dapper Man (Good to Firm)	19 Jun 2017	1m 4.25s
7f	Slemy (Good)	21 Jul 2015	1m 24.72s
1m	Savaanah (Good to Firm)	22 Jun 2018	1m 38.47s
1m 1f	Moccasin (Good)	26 Apr 2015	1m 53.44s
1m 2f	First Sargeant (Good)	21 Jul 2015	2m 5.13s
1m 5f	Corona Borealis (Good)	26 Apr 2015	2m 51.62s
1m 6f	Davy's Dilemma (Good to Firm)	19 Jun 2017	3m 0.41s
2m	Pantomime (Good to Firm)	06 Jun 2018	3m 30.93s

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
D Skelton	30	11	10	£106,105	36.67%	£6.64
Mrs S J Smith	59	9	31	£63,292	15.25%	-£22.56
Micky Hammond	63	5	25	£42,578	7.94%	-£30.50
Dr R D P Newland	6	5	0	£38,003	83.33%	£8.30
B Ellison	22	4	10	£91,426	18.18%	-£9.08
C E Longsdon	19	4	6	£28,787	21.05%	-£3.75
P A Kirby	9	4	2	£22,678	44.44%	£2.75
N P Mulholland	9	4	1	£29,436	44.44%	£9.13
N A Twiston-Davies	18	3	10	£80,781	16.67%	-£6.50
N G Richards	13	3	6	£41,293	23.08%	£24.75

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
D Skelton	63	17	27	£84,205	26.98%	-£4.21
P A Kirby	95	17	20	£98,602	17.89%	£41.00
Micky Hammond	108	9	26	£34,505	8.33%	£12.00
W Greatrex	27	8	9	£42,486	29.63%	-£5.61
Mr M T Walford	39	7	13	£24,562	17.95%	-£2.50
D McCain Jnr	37	5	16	£21,314	13.51%	-£3.50
N P Mulholland	18	4	9	£14,166	22.22%	-£4.00
Mrs R Dobbin	28	4	7	£12,606	14.29%	-£7.42
N A Twiston-Davies	19	4	7	£17,220	21.05%	-£3.17
P J Hobbs	8	4	3	£20,664	50%	£1.53

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
K C Bailey	6	2	2	£4,678	33.33%	£4.38
Mrs Corbett	5	2	1	£4,158	40%	£9.00
B Ellison	7	1	3	£2,053	14.29%	-£3.75
Jamie Snowden	5	1	3	£3,087	20%	£12.00
Micky Hammond	10	1	2	£1,949	10%	£15.00
W Greatrex	6	1	2	£2,209	16.67%	-£3.25
F O'Brien	6	1	2	£2,209	16.67%	-£5.20
A King	3	1	2	£2,599	33.33%	-£1.38
N G Richards	5	1	1	£2,274	20%	£8.00
Amy Murphy	4	1	1	£2,599	25%	£9.00

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
R A Fahey	26	7	9	£34,997	26.92%	£25.75
J H M Gosden	9	4	4	£17,660	44.44%	-£1.21
D Carroll	13	4	2	£17,014	30.77%	£22.00
T D Easterby	32	3	13	£11,514	9.38%	£0.00
D O'Meara	21	3	8	£9,897	14.29%	£35.25
R G Fell	18	3	5	£11,190	16.67%	-£2.50
Jedd O'Keeffe	10	3	2	£14,426	30%	£8.00
J Davies	8	2	4	£8,668	25%	£3.50
W J Haggas	8	2	3	£30,404	25%	£2.50
R Charlton	4	2	2	£13,456	50%	£3.38

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
Danny Cook	64	11	35	£115,693	17.19%	-£21.63
Harry Skelton	25	10	7	£80,968	40%	£6.55
B S Hughes	52	8	30	£45,423	15.38%	-£28.65
Sean Quinlan	19	6	6	£49,060	31.58%	£10.00
Henry Brooke	27	5	12	£95,558	18.52%	-£6.92
Kielan Woods	13	4	5	£18,603	30.77%	£22.53
R Johnson	15	3	7	£15,986	20%	£0.75
R D Day	12	3	4	£38,823	25%	£35.00
Sam Coltherd	10	3	3	£17,610	30%	£4.25
Aidan Coleman	11	3	2	£14,036	27.27%	£5.00

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Harry Skelton	52	14	23	£63,683	26.92%	-£9.05
B S Hughes	79	11	33	£46,331	13.92%	-£20.13
R Johnson	30	10	14	£56,846	33.33%	£2.03
Thomas Dowson	39	8	13	£53,841	20.51%	£2.00
A Nicol	49	8	9	£39,821	16.33%	£17.83
Sean Quinlan	42	6	9	£22,035	14.29%	£28.00
Jamie Hamilton	38	4	13	£14,556	10.53%	-£3.60
T Scudamore	19	4	9	£13,516	21.05%	-£8.63
Finian O'Toole	36	4	6	£13,169	11.11%	£43.00
Jake Greenall	21	4	4	£12,346	19.05%	-£2.00

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
David Bass	5	2	2	£4,678	40%	£5.38
G Sheehan	7	2	1	£5,296	28.57%	£12.75
James Corbett	4	2	1	£4,158	50%	£10.00
B S Hughes	11	1	2	£2,053	9.09%	-£8.50
G Lee	7	1	2	£2,274	14.29%	£2.00
Joe Colliver	7	1	2	£1,949	14.29%	£19.00
Jack Quinlan	6	1	2	£2,599	16.67%	£7.00
Mr Kaine Wood	5	1	2	£2,053	20%	-£1.75
R P McLernon	3	1	2	£2,599	33.33%	£4.00
P J Brennan	5	1	1	£2,209	20%	-£3.20

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
P J McDonald	39	6	15	£22,738	15.38%	£14.50
D Tudhope	18	6	7	£20,247	33.33%	£58.25
Ben Curtis	30	5	3	£42,187	16.67%	-£2.50
T Hamilton	32	4	8	£16,689	12.5%	-£6.00
P Hanagan	12	4	6	£21,542	33.33%	£14.00
J Garritty	17	4	4	£17,919	23.53%	£10.00
T Eaves	20	3	3	£17,338	15%	£6.50
R Havlin	6	3	3	£12,873	50%	£0.79
P Makin	18	2	8	£7,115	11.11%	-£4.50
J P Sullivan	23	2	6	£8,280	8.7%	-£3.50