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All-weather course guides, key stats and trends
Timeform analyst Sam Randall highlights the key characteristics of each of Britain's all-weather courses.
CHELMSFORD
Formerly Great Leighs, Chelmsford City racecourse has made a better fist of things second time around, especially when it comes to prize-money with many trainers praising the rewards on offer compared to some of the other all-weather tracks. As such, the course is well supported by some of the bigger yards, with the Johnston stable faring particularly well, recording 93 winners from 567 runners since January 1, 2017. The talents of Mick Appleby have also been showcased and he has sent out 86 winners from 726 runners at the track in the same period.
The fact Chelmsford is easily accessible from Newmarket also ensures a consistently competitive level of racing.
When it comes to the ins and outs of the racing itself, Chelmsford is a left-handed track which is roughly a mile around and has more generous, sweeping bends than some of the other all-weather courses.
That said, a prominent position is still very much a positive as the surface is deeper and the kick-back more significant than at other tracks in the country.
More often than not the inside rail isn’t the place to be in the finish, with those switching out to charge down the centre faring well, while a full two-furlong straight allows some time to get rolling.
KEMPTON
In 2006 Kempton switched to a Polytrack surface for Flat racing and it has proved a success with the track one of the better supported all-weather courses in terms of runners.
They race frequently throughout the year and a fair track ensures reasonably solid form whatever the grade, with the cut-away in the straight meaning that hard-luck stories are kept to a minimum.
The maidens and minor events are well supported by the top yards – the track is viewed as an ideal place to introduce newcomers – with John & Thady Gosden and the Godolphin trainers, Saeed Bin Suroor and Charlie Appleby, showing particularly good strike-rates.
Kempton is the only right-handed all-weather track in Britain and, in terms of biases, it is pretty fair, the only exceptions being races run around the inner loop which is much tighter. The five-furlong trip is one of the sharpest in the country, with those drawn low and able to display early speed faring considerably better than low-drawn horses at other trips around the same course.
*Figures for Gosden and Crisford stables includes data prior to training partnerships
LINGFIELD
All-weather racing is quickly improving in terms of quality with good races being held at many of the tracks now, but for a long period Lingfield was the undoubted HQ of all-weather racing in Britain with the introduction of the Winter Derby in 1998 proving the focal point of the ‘winter season’.
It was quickly promoted from listed level to the Group 3 contest it is today and in Wissahickon and Dubai Warrior, both very smart performers for the combination of Frankie Dettori and John Gosden, the 2019 and 2020 winners showed the race to be well worth its status. It received another boost in 2022 when the William Haggas-trained Alenquer was successful en route to a Group 1 success in Ireland later in the year.
That said, the Lingfield track has its quirks and wouldn’t be described at the fairest around; its sharp nature, short straight and fast Polytrack surface lend itself to suiting strong-travelling sorts and much in the past has been made of the approach to the final tight bend and the ‘slingshot’ effect this can produce.
Complexions of races can change quickly in the finish granted a good pace, though in recent times, especially since sectionals have come more into focus, it could be said that there has been an increase in falsely-run races at a track which lends itself to hard-luck stories and trouble in running.
It wouldn’t be the track to campaign an out-and-out galloper at, and a good tactical rider can come in handy.
NEWCASTLE
The newest all-weather course in Britain, Newcastle converted its turf Flat track to a Tapeta surface and began racing in 2016. It has added something totally different to the all-weather season, not least in being a track which serves the Northern trainers much more conveniently, but also in the totally different test it provides.
The track is left-handed and galloping in nature with a wide-open straight which can see fields spread right across the track in a finish, and races up to a mile are run without a bend. This has made for some gruelling tests and slow-motion finishes, with stamina at an absolute premium.
Hold-up horses have a considerably better record at Newcastle than any other all-weather track to such an extent that missing the break can almost be an advantage in some situations.
The fact that the track provides such a thorough test is not to be construed as a negative, however, and the track’s prestigious staying handicap, the Northumberland Plate, has transferred to the Tapeta without any issues. In 2022 Trueshan put up one of the great all-weather performances to defy a BHA mark of 120.
The track also received the ultimate accolade towards the end of 2019 when chosen to host the rearranged Group 1 Vertem Futurity Stakes following its cancellation due to waterlogging at Doncaster and has since also been awarded the prestigious All-Weather Finals Day.
While the track has provided great opportunities for local trainers at a lower level and several horses have run up multiple successes, suggesting the track lends itself to course specialists, it has also been well supported from further afield with Newmarket trainers John & Thady Gosden, William Haggas and Charlie Appleby racking up impressive strike rates, particularly in the novice/maiden events.
SOUTHWELL
Consigned to the memory banks, a whole generation of new bettors set to grow up without it, Southwell’s old Fibresand surface and its fundamental part of the all-weather revolution will be remembered fondly by those that conquered it as a betting medium, and ridiculed by those that didn’t. However, in truth, for the sport the recent switch to a Tapeta surface has been a success.
Installed only just over a year ago in winter 2021, the days of outrageous kickback and strung out fields are already long gone, quite simply because more horses can handle the surface and give their running, and, as such, a lot of angles that were useful in the past such as course specialists, front runners and US-bred horses are no longer as relevant.
While the course’s quality of racing hasn’t improved a great deal in that time, with similar trainers that thrived on Fibresand still amongst the winners, the new surface, along with recently installed floodlights, does give a lot more scope for hosting better racing in the future.
The following table shows how the front-running/prominent racer bias that used to dominate is no longer so significant.
WOLVERHAMPTON
In 1994 Wolverhampton laid a Fibresand track to run alongside its turf course, and they also installed lights at the same time to become Britain’s first floodlit course. It wasn’t until 2004 that both tracks were replaced by a single Polytrack course and a decade later it changed once again to the current Tapeta surface.
Left handed and tight, barely a mile around, Dunstall Park is a course that suits horses able to hold a prominent position and a straight of under two furlongs long can lead to trouble in running. A low draw is handy, particularly in races up to a mile, and it is important for riders not to be trapped wide given the constant turning nature of the track.
It is fair to say Wolverhampton can be more about quantity than quality, with the course showing its durability by providing around 80 fixtures a year to the racing calendar, many of them low-grade affairs. However, Dunstall Park does host a Lincoln Trial and the listed Lady Wulfruna Stakes during their valuable March fixture.
Like Southwell, the level of the average race at Wolverhampton gives some of the less high-profile yards a chance to shine.
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