Nottingham Course Guide

Left handed. The gallop is often steady due to the relatively sharp bends, particularly into the straight, so those ridden prominently can be difficult to reel in. In races over a mile and a mile and a quarter, those drawn high in big fields are often forced wide on the turn, the alternatives being to drop out in the rear, or expend a lot of energy in the early stages to get across and race prominently. Five and six furlong races are contested over a straight course with minor undulations and speedy, handy types are favoured.

They’ve done a good job realigning the top turn at Nottingham, which for a while was very tricky. It seems fine now. The bottom bend isn’t the easiest to ride, because, in distance races, you need to come out right and then swing in left-handed, almost negotiating a turn, a straight and another turn. There’s a long home straight, where they often start racing too soon, setting it up for a closer, and, on the inner sprint course, you’ll sometimes see one getting away, particularly in extreme conditions.

View from the saddle: Jason Weaver