Wincanton Course Guide

Right handed, flat and essentially sharp in character. One of the sharpest tests in the country when the ground is firmer than good, hold-up tactics usually counter-productive, but on very testing going the course can provide a surprisingly thorough test, often resulting in strung-out fields and a low percentage of completions, especially on the hurdles course, perhaps a cause of its fundamentally tight nature ensuring races are well run regardless of conditions, front runners often overdoing things. The fences are stiff and claim plenty of casualties, with the three in the home straight coming so close together that it often proves difficult to come from behind.

Wincanton is a very fast course and you really do need a horse that travels around it. The two-mile track there is one of the quickest in Britain and you run downhill virtually all the way from the home turn. If something poaches a lead turning in, chances are it won’t come back to you, so jockeys have to be very careful about positioning. Letting a rival get away from you at that point, especially one with stamina, can be disastrous. It’s certainly not unusual for the one in front at the second-last to stay there all the way to the line.

View from the saddle: Mick Fitzgerald