Racing Review – Page 4 – The A

Haydock Park

Haydock Park racecourse is situated in Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside and is owned by Jockey Club Racecourses. It’s both a flat and national hunt course and its races are broadcast on Racing UK. The ‘Park’ in Haydock park is on account of the courses beautiful setting within parkland.

The course first opened in 1899 (racing had previously taken place in nearby Newton in the decades previous) and is a left handed course of around 1 mile 5 furlongs in distance. Racing takes place all year round, and the course is home to two group one races, the Haydock Spring Cup in September and November’s Betfair Chase, the former is a flat race, the latter a chase.

The Betfair Chase is a relatively new addition, having first taken place in 2005. Its sponsor, Betfair, initially offered a £1,000,000 prize to any horse winning this race as well as the King George VI Chase and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Kauto Star wasted no time in picking up the prize in 2006-7, and in fact won the race four times between 2006-11. Cue Card has also impressed in the Betfair Chase over the years, winning it in 2013, 2015 and 2016.

The success of Kauto Star – and also wins by Silvianaco Conti, means that jockey Ruby Walsh and trainer Paul Nicholls currently hold the records for the most wins in the Betfair Chase.

Racecourses

Newmarket

Newmarket racecourse is situated in Newmarket, Suffolk, UK and consists of two separate courses named the Rowley Mile (a 1 mile 2 furlong course used in spring and autumn) and the July course (1 mile). Both courses are for flat racing only. It’s well situated with many nearby training yards and organisations (Tattersalls etc). It’s place in the heart of races extends to its exciting racing fixtures which take place from April to November each year.

Many noteable races are held at the Newmarket course including the Craven Stakes in April, 1000 and 2000 Guineas in May, The July Cup, and Fillies Mile in September, the list goes on. The course holds an impressive nine of the UK’s 36 group one meetings each year – most of which take place on the Rowley Mile course – meaning that if you live close to the course you’re in for a real treat!

Some will be aware that the Champion Stakes also used to take place at Newmarket, but that race along with two others moved to British Champions Day at Ascot in 2010.

The course has royal connections going back hundreds of years. The first recorded race in the proximity was a £100 bet between Lord Salisbury and Marquess of Buckingham in 1622, with the racecourse itself being founded in 1636.

Racecourses

Aintree

Aintree racecourse is a track near Aintree, Liverpool in the UK. It’s most famous for hosting the Grand National, the most highly anticipated and watched steeplechase race in the UK racing calendar.

The Aintree course is certainly not the most straightforward there is. Fences such as the Chair, Becher’s Brook and the Canal Turn have gained prominence and indeed notoriety due to the role they have played in the Grand National over the years. The Grand National isn’t the only race to utilise these fences, as they also feature in Fox Hunters Chase and Topham Chase, which are races that are part of the wider Grand National Meeting. The fences also feature in the Grand Sefton Handicap Chase and Becher Chase in Aintree’s December Meeting.

The Grand National held at Aintree is run over a distance of 4 miles 514 yards. The race typically starts with a field of around 40, though frequently a great many less finish the race, due to falls and horses pulling up over the two laps of the course.

Aside from the showpiece Grand National Meeting, and aforementioned December meeting, one other stand out race at Aintree is October’s Old Roan Chase. It’s a grade two national hunt steeplechase race which was won by Kauto Star in 2006, just two years after the event was first held.

Races

Champion Hurdle

The Champion Hurdle is a grade one national hunt event that takes place in Cheltenham in March of each year over a 2 miles and ½ furlong, 8 hurdle course. It’s part of the much anticipated four day Cheltenham Festival, taking place on day one of the festival, and has attracted a wealth of racing talent since its inaugural run in 1927.

As a, or possibly ‘the’, highly anticipated hurdling event of the season, the Champion Hurdle understandably has been won by some very big names, such as three time winners See You Then and Instabraq, as well as the talented Persian War. The purse for the Champion Hurdle is currently £400,000, so it’s come a long way from the 1927 race when the prize money was £365. The Nicky Henderson trained Buveur d’Air has impressed in the Champion Hurdle in recent years, winning both the 2017 and 2018 races.

Henderson is actually the leading trainer over the entire history of the race, with a total of seven wins to his name. As he works closely with J. P. McManus, it’s surely no surprise to hear that Mcmanus is the leading owner to date. Leading jockey honours are split between Ruby Walsh and 1950’s jockey Tim Molony, both on four wins a piece.