Hamilton Course Guide

Right handed, sharp, undulating. There are steep gradients into and out of a pronounced hollow just over three furlongs from the winning post, with a severe hill up to the finish. When the ground becomes testing, runners generally stick to the far rail.

It’s vital in distance races at Hamilton that you get your mount to settle early on, otherwise you’ll be going far too quick down the hill, long before you get to the top loop. Balance is all-important for any horse running there, which means you get a few track specialists. The steep run down to the bottom of the dip can cause jockeys to start racing too early and, because it’s a long way home from there, they can be walking from the two to the one pole. There’s very little draw bias in sprint races.

View from the saddle: Jason Weaver