Racecourse Guide

Newbury
National Hunt

Berkshire · home of the Coral Gold Cup and the Grade 1 Challow Hurdle

⬤ National Hunt
Turf
Left-Handed
Galloping, Fair

Shape

Left-Handed Oval shared w/ Flat

Track Type

Galloping, Fair

Fences

11 per circuit

Hurdles

7 per circuit

Home Straight

4 fences

Run-in

250yd chase

Direction

Left-handed

Course Highlight

Challow Novices’ Hurdle Grade 1

Course Overview

Track Breakdown

Newbury’s jumps course shares the same left-handed oval footprint as its Flat track, at roughly 1m5f per circuit. Each chase circuit brings 11 fences — 9 plain fences and 2 open ditches, one of which incorporates the water jump — with 4 fences in the home straight, the second of which is an open ditch. The chase run-in is around 250 yards. A genuine quirk: the water jump is bypassed on the final circuit of longer races, jumped only on earlier circuits.

The fences are considered stiff by national standards, but this isn’t a high faller-rate track — it’s regarded as an honest, fair galloping test rather than a trappy one, which is exactly why trainers like introducing promising novice chasers here: there’s nothing tricky to catch a horse out, just a proper jumping examination. Hurdle races run over 7 flights per circuit on the same oval.

The Chase Course

Circuit Left-handed, shares the Flat oval’s footprint, roughly 1m5f
Fences 11 per circuit — 9 plain + 2 open ditches (one incorporating the water jump); 4 fences in the home straight, the second an open ditch
Water jump quirk Bypassed on the final circuit of longer races — jumped only on earlier circuits
Run-in Around 250 yards

The Hurdles Course

Circuit Same left-handed oval as the chase course
Hurdles 7 flights per circuit
Character Stiff fences overall, but not a high faller-rate course — an honest test rather than a trappy one

Notable Races

The Racing Calendar

Grade 3 Handicap Chase · Late November

Coral Gold Cup

3m2f, 21 fences. Newbury’s marquee jumps race, formerly the Hennessy Gold Cup (1960-2016) then Ladbrokes Trophy (2016-2021). Arkle won back-to-back renewals (1964-65); Denman won in 2007 and 2009. Sir Peter O’Sullevan’s final commentary (1997) was on this race.

Grade 3 Handicap Hurdle · February

William Hill Hurdle

About 2 miles. One of Britain’s richest handicap hurdles, formerly the Schweppes/Tote Gold Trophy/Betfair Hurdle. Nicky Henderson has won it a record 5 times; Persian War (1968) and Make A Stand (1997) both won this race and the following month’s Champion Hurdle.

Grade 1 · Late December

Challow Novices’ Hurdle

2m4½f, 10 hurdles. Newbury’s only Grade 1 and a leading Cheltenham novice-hurdle trial. Denman won by 21 lengths in 2005.

Grade 2 · February

Denman Chase

About 2m7½f, 18 fences. A key Cheltenham Gold Cup trial, renamed for 2008 winner Denman.

Grade 2 · February

Game Spirit Chase

2m½f. Run on the same “Super Saturday” card as the Denman Chase. Altior won it three times.

Grade 2 · November

Long Distance Hurdle

3 miles. A staying-hurdle feature on the Coral Gold Cup weekend.

Grade 2 · November

John Francome Novices’ Chase

2m4f. Named for the former champion jockey, run on the same November weekend as the Coral Gold Cup.

Pace Bias

A Genuine Split by Discipline

Newbury’s most distinctive NH finding is that its two jumping disciplines favour opposite running styles on the exact same course footprint. In chases, leaders are rarely overhauled on the run-in — especially from the elbow — making prominent racing a real advantage. In hurdle races, the long run-in instead rewards hold-up horses, who have time to get organised and deliver a challenge. Separately, quantified data (non-handicap races, 1 Jan 2015 – 10 Nov 2019) shows clear favourites winning 33% of all jumps races (101 from 307, A/E 0.89), with chase favourites on 42% (13 from 31, A/E 0.84) and hurdle favourites on 46% (37 from 81, A/E 0.95).

Run Style Bias — By Discipline

▲ Chases: Leaders

Favoured — rarely caught from the elbow

▲ Hurdles: Hold-up

Favoured — long run-in rewards patience

Don’t apply one running-style rule across both codes here — the same long run-in that helps a hold-up hurdler is the same stretch a front-running chaser typically holds onto, because chase leaders are established well before the elbow while hurdle races are run at a sharper overall gallop that leaves more for a closer to work with.

Statistics · Since 2010

Top Trainers & Jockeys

Trainer	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Henderson, N J	747	155	20.75%	325	43.51%	0.95	-86.60
2 Nicholls, P F	640	126	19.69%	267	41.72%	0.90	-51.53
3 Hobbs, P J / White, J	411	67	16.30%	148	36.01%	1.01	+104.12
4 King, A	525	53	10.10%	198	37.71%	0.71	-224.06
5 Pipe, D E	281	40	14.23%	89	31.67%	1.10	+9.74
6 Skelton, Daniel	311	38	12.22%	101	32.48%	0.82	-56.55
7 Moore, Gary and Josh	370	36	9.73%	86	23.24%	0.93	-16.16
8 Williams, Miss Venetia	231	35	15.15%	86	37.23%	1.02	-15.76
9 Tizzard, C L	265	33	12.45%	80	30.19%	0.88	-76.56
10 Twiston-Davies, N A	320	32	10.00%	94	29.38%	0.81	-82.85
11 O’Neill, Jonjo and AJ	289	29	10.03%	65	22.49%	0.86	-61.01
12 Pauling, Ben	198	28	14.14%	61	30.81%	1.02	-65.10
13 O’Brien, Fergal	185	28	15.14%	50	27.03%	0.95	+6.59
14 Greatrex, W J	189	23	12.17%	54	28.57%	1.07	-51.86
15 Fry, Harry	121	22	18.18%	45	37.19%	0.85	-32.36
16 Lavelle, Miss E C	201	20	9.95%	67	33.33%	0.72	-82.13
17 George, T R	183	19	10.38%	53	28.96%	0.78	-78.91
18 Gordon, C	177	15	8.47%	53	29.94%	0.76	-95.74
19 Curtis, Miss Rebecca	140	15	10.71%	41	29.29%	0.79	-41.09
20 Williams, Nick	87	15	17.24%	35	40.23%	1.22	+4.17

Newbury NH, since 2010. N J Henderson leads the page on volume (155 wins from 747, 20.8% SR, A/E 0.95). The real value signals are Nick Williams (A/E 1.22, +£4.17). Oppose the over-bet A King (A/E 0.71), Miss E C Lavelle (A/E 0.72) and C Gordon (A/E 0.76).

Jockey	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Cobden, Harry	346	73	21.10%	146	42.20%	1.01	-24.32
2 Johnson, Richard	358	71	19.83%	142	39.66%	1.23	+225.18
3 Boinville, Nico	303	65	21.45%	126	41.58%	0.93	+1.59
4 Geraghty, B J	255	56	21.96%	124	48.63%	0.87	-32.19
5 Scudamore, Tom	266	37	13.91%	89	33.46%	1.03	-23.59
6 McCoy, A P	182	37	20.33%	73	40.11%	0.90	-5.89
7 Twiston-Davies, Sam	390	34	8.72%	108	27.69%	0.67	-172.71
8 Skelton, Harry	243	34	13.99%	88	36.21%	0.77	-47.30
9 Fehily, Noel	218	33	15.14%	71	32.57%	0.90	-62.82
10 Brennan, P J	263	31	11.79%	85	32.32%	0.80	-100.14
11 Coleman, A	283	26	9.19%	77	27.21%	0.72	-103.10
12 Sheehan, Gavin	220	24	10.91%	65	29.55%	0.94	-33.12
13 Hutchinson, Wayne	195	24	12.31%	74	37.95%	0.81	-53.05
14 Jacob, Daryl	201	22	10.95%	54	26.87%	0.76	-95.73
15 Walsh, R	74	19	25.68%	37	50.00%	0.88	-12.22
16 Moore, Jamie	201	17	8.46%	43	21.39%	0.94	-33.94
17 O’Brien, T J	176	17	9.66%	43	24.43%	0.93	-1.67
18 Bowen, Sean P	146	17	11.64%	39	26.71%	0.86	-25.22
19 Deutsch, Charlie	98	17	17.35%	44	44.90%	1.11	+13.38
20 Powell, Brendan	193	16	8.29%	44	22.80%	0.81	-63.42

Newbury NH, since 2010. Harry Cobden leads the riders on volume (73 wins from 346, 21.1% SR, A/E 1.01). The real value signals are Richard Johnson (A/E 1.23, +£225.18). Oppose the over-bet Sam Twiston-Davies (A/E 0.67), A Coleman (A/E 0.72) and Daryl Jacob (A/E 0.76).

Sire Statistics · Since 2010

Top Sires

Sire	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Kayf Tara	300	39	13.00%	95	31.67%	0.89	-104.77
2 Oscar (IRE)	226	31	13.72%	60	26.55%	1.10	+44.19
3 Flemensfirth (USA)	270	29	10.74%	81	30.00%	0.73	-79.27
4 King’s Theatre (IRE)	233	29	12.45%	73	31.33%	0.84	-92.13
5 Presenting	262	25	9.54%	65	24.81%	0.83	-85.71
6 Beneficial	175	25	14.29%	61	34.86%	1.11	-26.89
7 Kapgarde (FR)	116	19	16.38%	44	37.93%	1.01	-13.27
8 Milan	224	18	8.04%	66	29.46%	0.57	-107.76
9 Walk In The Park (IRE)	113	18	15.93%	43	38.05%	0.93	-31.80
10 Midnight Legend	205	17	8.29%	60	29.27%	0.70	-84.54
11 Getaway (GER)	170	17	10.00%	39	22.94%	0.81	-52.87
12 Westerner	147	17	11.56%	42	28.57%	0.93	-64.41
13 Mahler	119	16	13.45%	30	25.21%	1.20	-0.15
14 Yeats (IRE)	135	14	10.37%	39	28.89%	0.75	-62.41
15 Shirocco (GER)	116	14	12.07%	37	31.90%	0.94	-18.10
16 Martaline	104	14	13.46%	36	34.62%	0.96	-10.40
17 Doyen (IRE)	94	13	13.83%	34	36.17%	0.91	-42.86
18 Fame And Glory	82	13	15.85%	30	36.59%	0.97	+45.29
19 Malinas (GER)	72	13	18.06%	27	37.50%	1.07	-6.93
20 Sir Harry Lewis (USA)	47	13	27.66%	23	48.94%	1.49	+14.05

Newbury NH, since 2010. Kayf Tara tops the sire list (39 wins from 300, 13.0% SR, A/E 0.89), though the market prices that in. The real value signals are Sir Harry Lewis (USA) (A/E 1.49, +£14.05). Oppose the over-bet Milan (A/E 0.57), Midnight Legend (A/E 0.70) and Flemensfirth (USA) (A/E 0.73).

Insider Knowledge

Betting Angles

🏆

Nicky Henderson Owns This Track

5x William Hill Hurdle, 4x Tote Gold Trophy, and 3x Coral/Hennessy Gold Cup wins at Newbury.

🐴

Chases and Hurdles Favour Opposite Styles

Front-runners rule the chase course; hold-up horses rule the hurdles course — on the exact same footprint.

📈

The Trainer Value Sits Below Nicholls

Nicholls and Henderson both go off at or below fair value here (A/E 0.93 and 0.78); J Scott is the efficiency standout (A/E 1.30), and short-priced runners from Harry Derham (A/E 0.75) and Olly Murphy (A/E 0.70) want caution.

🎓

A Fair Course for Introducing Novice Chasers

Stiff fences but no high faller rate — a genuinely honest jumping test.

🏆

K K Woods Is the Rider Value

Woods returns A/E 1.74 from 38 rides for a profit; Harry Cobden leads the winners at fair value (A/E 0.96), while Nico Boinville (A/E 0.79) and Tom Cannon (A/E 0.69) are over-bet.

📅

One Grade 1, Real Depth Elsewhere

The Challow is the only Grade 1, but Newbury packs 6 Grade 2/3 jumps races into just two marquee weekends.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Assuming a single pace bias applies across all NH races here. Chases favour leaders; hurdles favour hold-up — on the exact same course footprint.
Assuming the water jump is jumped every time round in longer chases. It’s bypassed on the final circuit.
Calling the big races by memory alone. Both the Coral Gold Cup (ex-Hennessy, ex-Ladbrokes Trophy) and William Hill Hurdle (ex-Schweppes/Tote Gold Trophy/Betfair Hurdle) have changed sponsor names multiple times in the last decade.

Common Questions

Newbury Racecourse FAQs

Is there a pace bias at Newbury over jumps?

Yes, and it genuinely splits by discipline: chases favour leaders (rarely caught from the elbow), while hurdles favour hold-up horses, thanks to the long run-in.

What is Newbury’s only Grade 1 National Hunt race?

The Challow Novices’ Hurdle, run over 2m4½f each late December.

Why isn’t the water jump always jumped in longer chases?

It’s bypassed on the final circuit — horses only jump it on earlier circuits of the race.

Who owns Newbury Racecourse?

Newbury Racecourse Plc, an independently-owned company listed on the Aquis Stock Exchange — not Arena Racing Company or Jockey Club Racecourses.

Explore

Other Jumps Tracks

Cheltenham

Old Course and New Course — the home of jump racing.

Aintree

Home of the Grand National — Mildmay and National courses.

Kempton Park

Sharp, flat right-hander — home of the King George.

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