Worcester Course Guide

Racing has taken place at Worcester since 1718 and in recent years the course has emerged as a popular venue for summer jumping, staging 20 National Hunt fixtures from May to October in 2015.

Among the feature races staged at the track are the Valerie Lewis Memorial Handicap Chase and the Richard Davis Memorial Chase. The Valerie Lewis Memorial Handicap Chase, named in honour of the co-owner of three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate who lived in Worcester, takes place in June over an extended two and a half miles.

The Richard Davis Memorial Novices’ Handicap Chase, run in the memory of the young jump jockey who died in a fall at Southwell in 1996, is also run over an extended two and a half miles and usually takes place at the start of the traditional jumps season.

With its flat oval course Worcester is seen an ideal place to introduce a novice and many leading West Country trainers run their horses at the track in order to gain valuable racecourse experience; 2004 Cheltenham Festival Stayers’ Hurdle hero Iris’s Gift won his first two career starts at Worcester.

Jumps Racing

Flat, left-handed with easy turns. Portable fences take little jumping, the course being one of the easiest in the country to negotiate, though many show a tendency to go right in the home straight. The long home straight should, in theory, give hold-up horses plenty of time to recover ground, but when conditions ride quick in summer months it pays more often than not to race handily. Beware betting on close finishes as camera is situated some way short of winning line.

It’s a pity Worcester doesn’t race in the winter, due to the proximity of the River Severn and the well-known flood problems it can cause, because it’s a lovely track. The list of classy horses to have won round there is incredible, including the likes of Morley Street, and it’s a great course for a novice chaser. You could compare it to Newbury or Newcastle, a good galloping track, with very fair fences and lovely smooth turns. You don’t hear too many hard-luck stories from jockeys riding Worcester.

View from the saddle: Mick Fitzgerald

Worcester Top Times
Last 5 years

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m 110y	Don Occhetti (Good)	21 Aug 2024	3m 55.8s
2m 4f	Jet Smart (Good)	18 Jun 2025	4m 50.23s
2m 7f	Olivers Travels (Good)	21 Aug 2024	5m 34.3s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m	Sir Galahad (Good)	18 Jun 2025	3m 43.82s
2m 4f	Solo Saxophone (Good)	14 Jul 2022	4m 40.05s
2m 7f	No No Maestro (Good)	14 Jul 2022	5m 32.04s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
2m	Dreaming Diamond (Good)	22 Jun 2022	3m 38.7s

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

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Dan Skelton	39	11	16	£49,043	28.21%	-£7.57
B Pauling	28	7	10	£29,231	25%	£14.36
P Bowen	20	7	8	£38,656	35%	£21.63
N P Mulholland	27	6	7	£36,809	22.22%	£4.83
Jonjo & A J O'Neill	31	4	10	£17,348	12.9%	-£2.13
F O'Brien	28	3	15	£14,285	10.71%	-£16.75
James Owen	15	3	9	£14,285	20%	-£6.25
D Pipe	20	3	3	£11,354	15%	£8.00
S Edmunds	8	3	1	£15,799	37.5%	£3.75
M Keighley	24	2	9	£7,948	8.33%	-£9.50

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
O Murphy	80	16	37	£74,796	20%	-£30.19
Dan Skelton	83	12	33	£47,717	14.46%	-£46.04
James Owen	52	12	28	£43,914	23.08%	-£30.52
Jamie Snowden	37	12	12	£61,659	32.43%	£20.38
N P Mulholland	72	10	22	£70,318	13.89%	£62.94
F O'Brien	69	9	26	£38,275	13.04%	-£23.29
Jonjo & A J O'Neill	83	9	23	£71,152	10.84%	£11.62
P Bowen	22	8	4	£64,896	36.36%	£5.73
D Pipe	53	6	18	£22,735	11.32%	-£24.67
Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies	25	6	10	£26,011	24%	-£0.82

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Dan Skelton	10	4	4	£9,804	40%	£7.58
F O'Brien	18	3	5	£7,679	16.67%	-£6.00
O Murphy	7	3	3	£7,353	42.86%	£4.83
P Bowen	8	2	4	£4,902	25%	£1.70
Jamie Snowden	7	2	4	£4,902	28.57%	-£0.83
Nigel & Willy Twiston-Davies	13	2	3	£4,902	15.38%	£2.38
G Elliott	2	2	0	£4,902	100%	£1.23
Jonjo & A J O'Neill	7	1	3	£2,614	14.29%	£2.50
D McCain Jnr	5	1	3	£2,451	20%	-£0.50
M Keighley	7	1	2	£2,451	14.29%	£16.00

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

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
S Bowen	60	11	26	£61,457	18.33%	£13.75
Harry Skelton	29	10	14	£44,343	34.48%	-£1.57
James Bowen	34	9	14	£38,525	26.47%	£34.13
Ben Jones	30	7	8	£26,300	23.33%	£26.36
J J Burke	23	5	11	£23,685	21.74%	£30.00
Charlie Hammond	17	5	5	£26,802	29.41%	£7.66
Jonjo O'Neill Jr.	21	4	5	£17,507	19.05%	-£3.13
Sam Twiston-Davies	30	3	17	£15,962	10%	-£17.25
Jack Tudor	32	3	7	£11,354	9.38%	-£11.00
H Cobden	19	3	6	£15,922	15.79%	-£11.50

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
S Bowen	122	32	48	£135,512	26.23%	£5.13
Harry Skelton	64	13	27	£51,783	20.31%	-£21.54
Sam Twiston-Davies	57	12	29	£79,778	21.05%	-£9.34
G Sheehan	48	12	17	£62,800	25%	£20.88
H Cobden	41	9	16	£42,198	21.95%	-£16.21
Kielan Woods	47	8	23	£37,207	17.02%	£15.00
J J Burke	64	7	32	£26,548	10.94%	-£30.03
Jonjo O'Neill Jr.	43	6	13	£26,440	13.95%	-£11.38
Thomas Bellamy	42	6	10	£27,624	14.29%	-£24.88
David Bass	29	6	9	£25,794	20.69%	£7.05

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
Harry Skelton	8	4	3	£9,804	50%	£9.58
G Sheehan	9	3	4	£7,353	33.33%	£4.17
S Bowen	15	2	9	£4,902	13.33%	-£6.67
J J Burke	11	2	3	£4,902	18.18%	£24.00
C Brace	3	2	1	£5,228	66.67%	£6.33
Toby McCain-Mitchell	2	2	0	£4,902	100%	£13.38
James Bowen	8	1	6	£2,451	12.5%	-£1.50
H Cobden	5	1	2	£2,451	20%	-£3.43
Beau Morgan	3	1	2	£2,451	33.33%	£1.50
Dylan Johnston	3	1	2	£2,451	33.33%	-£0.80