Chepstow Course Guide

Left handed, undulating. An oval-shaped track, about two miles in extent, with a run-in of five furlongs. While not an out-and-out galloping course, owing to the pronounced undulations, the track puts the emphasis on stamina almost regardless of ground. All races up to a mile are run on the straight course.

Chepstow takes a fair bit of getting. Because it’s so up hill and down dale, stamina has to come into play and it’s also worth noting that the straight is quite long, meaning that some horses start to race a lot earlier than is ideal. If you’re on one that wants to make the running, for example, you’ll often get a few keen to take you on earlier than you might like, so patience is vital for a jockey. Long-striding horses can often go well on the straight track but, as it’s quite stiff, they definitely need to get home.

View from the saddle: Jason Weaver

Left-handed, undulating, oval course, nearly two miles round with eleven fences to a circuit, a five-furlong home straight, and a run-in of 250 yards. Conditions can be very testing. With five fences in the straight, the first part of which is downhill, front runners do well here.

Record times for Chepstow are very quick, which shows how slick it can be when the ground is fast, but horses can finish strung out like washing when it gets soft. Punters really must take note of conditions then, if they’re having a bet, because horses with stamina limitations can get home when the going is right for them, while it can be a real slog when it’s heavy. The other things to consider seriously are the undulations and the downhill run from the last. If you walk round the course, for example, you’ll be aware that, from several places out in the country, you can’t see the stands. The run-in, on the other hand, is quite steeply downhill, very quick on fast ground, and that’s why you often see horses make a mistake at the final jump.

View from the saddle: Mick Fitzgerald