Racecourse Guide

Newcastle
National Hunt

Gosforth Park, Tyne and Wear · home of the Fighting Fifth and a genuine stamina test

⬤ National Hunt
Turf
Left-Handed
Galloping

Shape

Oval ~1m6f

Track Type

Galloping, Uphill Finish

Fences

10 per circuit

Hurdles

7 per circuit

Home Straight

4 fences

Run-in

Long sustained uphill

Direction

Left-handed

Course Highlight

Fighting Fifth Gr.1

Course Overview

Track Breakdown

Racing in the North East traces back more than 350 years, originating at Killingworth in the early 17th century before moving to Newcastle’s Town Moor, which hosted the first Northumberland Plate in 1833. In 1880 a syndicate bought the 800-acre High Gosforth Park estate, and the current course — flat and jumps together — opened in 1882, giving Newcastle a history stretching back over 140 years. Ownership passed from Northern Racing (1994) to the Reuben Brothers (2007) before Northern Racing’s 2012 merger into Arena Racing Company, which runs the track today.

An important distinction: Newcastle’s floodlit all-weather Tapeta surface, installed in 2016, replaced only the flat turf racing surface. The turf National Hunt course is a separate, much older track that the 2016 redevelopment never touched, and it continues to operate exactly as it did before. The jumps course itself is a left-handed oval of around a mile and three-quarters — relatively flat for most of its length, but building to a sustained, demanding climb over the final three to four furlongs to the winning post. That hill is the course’s defining feature: many races are ridden steadily until the home turn precisely because jockeys know they’ll need something left in reserve, and jockey Mick Fitzgerald has praised the track directly — “Newcastle ranks among Britain’s best tracks. The fences provide a very fair test.”

The Chase Course

Circuit Left-handed, ~1m6f, largely flat before a sustained uphill finish over the last 3–4 furlongs
Fences 10 stiff fences per circuit — 2 open ditches, no water jump; 5 round the back, 4 up the home straight, 1 on the side just after the post
Run-in Long and uphill — no published exact yardage, but consistently described as a genuine test saved for the very end
Run style A true stamina test; many races are run steadily until the home turn because jockeys save something for the climb

The Hurdles Course

Circuit Shares the same left-handed oval
Hurdles 7 flights per circuit — 3 down the back straight, 3 in the home straight, 1 on the side
Notable races Hosts the Fighting Fifth Hurdle, first leg of the Triple Crown of Hurdling
Run style Accurate jumping at the last flight matters given the short run to the line from it

Notable Races

The Racing Calendar

Grade 1 · Late Nov/Early Dec

Fighting Fifth Hurdle

About 2m1f, 9 hurdles. Established in 1969 and the first leg of the Triple Crown of Hurdling alongside the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton and the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham — only Kribensis has won all three, in 1989–90. Nicky Henderson leads all trainers with eight wins; recent winners include Buveur D’Air (2016, 2017) and Constitution Hill (2022).

Premier Handicap · Same card as the Fighting Fifth

Rehearsal Chase

About 3 miles. Moved to Newcastle from Chepstow in 2005; the name reflects its role as an early-season formline for the Cheltenham Gold Cup. Lost Listed status in 2022 along with all handicaps nationally.

Handicap Chase · February

Eider Chase

About 4m1½f, 24 fences. First run in 1952 and nicknamed “the Northern National” — a recognised Grand National trial. Notorious for weather disruption, with at least 21 editions lost to snow, frost or waterlogging since 1952; Comply or Die won this and the Grand National in the same year, 2008.

Pace Bias

The Number That Matters

No source publishes quantified pace-bias data for Newcastle’s jumps course specifically. Genuine percentage-based pace data does exist for the track’s separate all-weather Tapeta straight, but that surface and layout are entirely different from the turf jumps circuit and the two must not be conflated.

Run Style Bias — Chases & Hurdles (qualitative)

▲ Held-up / Patient

─ Favoured

─ Prominent

─ Competitive

▼ Front-runners

─ Fades Late

Treat these bars as a reasoned read on the course’s well-documented character rather than a data-backed statistic. The logic follows directly from the track’s defining feature: a long, sustained uphill finish that punishes horses ridden too keenly early. Chase form is generally thought to read truer than hurdle form here, because the stiffer fences genuinely sort out stamina, whereas many hurdle races are jockeyed at a steady gallop until the straight — which can flatter some form and make true stamina tests look closer than they really are.

Statistics · Since 2010

Top Trainers & Jockeys

Trainer	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Russell, Miss Lucinda V	498	68	13.65%	158	31.73%	0.84	-108.29
2 Smith, Mrs S J	360	55	15.28%	133	36.94%	0.88	-80.85
3 McCain Jnr, D	325	54	16.62%	121	37.23%	0.80	-38.39
4 Richards, N G	263	48	18.25%	107	40.68%	0.91	-57.44
5 Hammond, Micky	324	37	11.42%	87	26.85%	1.04	-65.77
6 Menzies, Rebecca	241	37	15.35%	81	33.61%	1.17	+24.50
7 Alexander, N W	306	35	11.44%	73	23.86%	0.89	-101.73
8 Ellison, B	202	29	14.36%	67	33.17%	0.83	-86.22
9 Thomson, A M	175	29	16.57%	62	35.43%	0.97	+134.05
10 Kirby, P A	240	28	11.67%	61	25.42%	0.99	-66.95
11 Ewart, J P L	230	27	11.74%	73	31.74%	0.72	-89.47
12 Grant, C	325	26	8.00%	75	23.08%	0.76	-189.11
13 Reveley, K G	133	26	19.55%	55	41.35%	1.00	-22.12
14 Candlish, Jennie	99	21	21.21%	39	39.39%	1.14	+3.88
15 Skelton, Daniel	79	21	26.58%	42	53.16%	0.93	-0.60
16 Haslam, B M R	89	18	20.22%	30	33.71%	1.63	+54.06
17 Hamilton, Mrs A	98	17	17.35%	40	40.82%	0.96	-39.92
18 Jefferson, J M	77	17	22.08%	41	53.25%	1.12	+42.37
19 Dalgleish, Keith	64	17	26.56%	29	45.31%	1.38	+50.47
20 Walford, Mark	118	16	13.56%	41	34.75%	0.94	+11.75

Newcastle NH, since 2010. Miss Lucinda V Russell leads the page on volume (68 wins from 498, 13.7% SR, A/E 0.84), though the market prices that in. The real value signals are B M R Haslam (A/E 1.63, +£54.06), Keith Dalgleish (A/E 1.38, +£50.47) and Rebecca Menzies (A/E 1.17, +£24.50). Oppose the over-bet J P L Ewart (A/E 0.72), C Grant (A/E 0.76) and D McCain Jnr (A/E 0.80).

Jockey	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Hughes, Brian	640	118	18.44%	249	38.91%	0.85	-156.87
2 Quinlan, Sean	353	42	11.90%	98	27.76%	0.83	-59.92
3 Brooke, Henry	287	38	13.24%	88	30.66%	1.02	-46.14
4 Reveley, James	198	36	18.18%	79	39.90%	1.00	-2.60
5 Mania, Ryan	250	35	14.00%	77	30.80%	1.01	+127.01
6 McMenamin, Daniel	211	35	16.59%	79	37.44%	0.95	-58.97
7 Harding, Brian	190	27	14.21%	55	28.95%	1.03	-51.85
8 Nichol, Craig	312	25	8.01%	89	28.53%	0.62	-149.66
9 Cook, Danny	139	25	17.99%	59	42.45%	0.87	-36.62
10 Hamilton, Jamie	249	23	9.24%	68	27.31%	0.78	-55.53
11 Moscrop, Nathan	164	22	13.41%	53	32.32%	1.16	+2.74
12 O’Farrell, C	198	21	10.61%	52	26.26%	0.98	-43.68
13 Maguire, Jason	105	20	19.05%	48	45.71%	0.85	+2.61
14 Chapman, Ross	192	19	9.90%	46	23.96%	1.01	-40.86
15 Alexander, Lucy	151	19	12.58%	41	27.15%	0.94	-13.12
16 Renwick, Wilson	152	17	11.18%	39	25.66%	0.95	-76.86
17 Fox, Derek R	143	15	10.49%	36	25.17%	0.69	-65.75
18 Dowson, Thomas	133	15	11.28%	33	24.81%	1.22	-34.16
19 Lee, G	61	15	24.59%	28	45.90%	1.50	+28.76
20 Buchanan, Peter	171	14	8.19%	43	25.15%	0.57	-67.25

Newcastle NH, since 2010. Brian Hughes leads the riders on volume (118 wins from 640, 18.4% SR, A/E 0.85), though the market prices that in. The real value signals are G Lee (A/E 1.50, +£28.76) and Nathan Moscrop (A/E 1.16, +£2.74). Oppose the over-bet Peter Buchanan (A/E 0.57), Craig Nichol (A/E 0.62) and Derek R Fox (A/E 0.69).

Sire Statistics · Since 2010

Top Sires

Sire	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Flemensfirth (USA)	216	35	16.20%	68	31.48%	1.05	-31.27
2 Kayf Tara	168	27	16.07%	49	29.17%	0.99	+40.59
3 Presenting	159	26	16.35%	53	33.33%	1.07	+68.81
4 Beneficial	153	21	13.73%	49	32.03%	0.99	-5.09
5 Fame And Glory	102	21	20.59%	47	46.08%	1.14	-7.03
6 Westerner	148	20	13.51%	48	32.43%	0.80	-34.56
7 Getaway (GER)	136	20	14.71%	57	41.91%	0.89	-38.77
8 Shirocco (GER)	93	20	21.51%	32	34.41%	1.25	-11.24
9 Milan	188	19	10.11%	55	29.26%	0.72	-94.29
10 Midnight Legend	80	15	18.75%	22	27.50%	1.15	+0.76
11 Kapgarde (FR)	70	15	21.43%	24	34.29%	1.24	+14.66
12 Shantou (USA)	70	15	21.43%	31	44.29%	1.15	-3.43
13 Yeats (IRE)	115	14	12.17%	39	33.91%	0.80	+18.55
14 Oscar (IRE)	123	13	10.57%	40	32.52%	0.60	-68.94
15 Malinas (GER)	58	13	22.41%	23	39.66%	1.33	+29.10
16 Alflora (IRE)	95	12	12.63%	29	30.53%	0.96	-13.93
17 Cloudings (IRE)	74	12	16.22%	19	25.68%	1.45	+12.00
18 Kalanisi (IRE)	69	12	17.39%	28	40.58%	1.28	-10.31
19 Walk In The Park (IRE)	62	12	19.35%	27	43.55%	1.05	-6.33
20 Brian Boru	58	12	20.69%	21	36.21%	1.23	-9.29

Newcastle NH, since 2010. Flemensfirth (USA) tops the sire list (35 wins from 216, 16.2% SR, A/E 1.05), beating the market too. The real value signals are Malinas (GER) (A/E 1.33, +£29.10), Kapgarde (FR) (A/E 1.24, +£14.66) and Cloudings (IRE) (A/E 1.45, +£12.00). Oppose the over-bet Oscar (IRE) (A/E 0.60), Milan (A/E 0.72) and Westerner (A/E 0.80).

Insider Knowledge

Betting Angles

🏔️

Respect the Hill, Not Just the Pace

The sustained uphill finish rewards patient rides; many races are run steadily until the home turn precisely because jockeys know they’ll need something in reserve.

🏇

Follow Rebecca Menzies

27 winners from 162 runners (16.7%) at A/E 1.15 — the rare Newcastle trainer where volume and value line up, with B M R Haslam (A/E 1.73) and Ruth Jefferson (A/E 1.19) close behind. Nicky Richards, the old course-specialist name, is now a fade here (12 from 95, A/E 0.68).

🎯

McCain and Hughes Both Travel Well Here

Donald McCain has been one of the leading NH trainers at Newcastle over the past five seasons, with Brian Hughes the leading jumps jockey in the same period.

🌧️

Expect the Ground to Ride Soft

Newcastle’s exposed, slow-draining track regularly produces soft or heavy going through the winter — the Eider Chase’s extraordinary abandonment record (21+ editions lost since 1952) is the clearest evidence.

📐

Hug the Stand Rail in the Straight

The stand-side ground in the home straight has a reputation for riding faster, especially in hurdles races — watch where the senior jockeys choose to position.

🐎

Chase Form Reads Truer Than Hurdle Form

The stiffer fences genuinely sort out stamina, while many hurdle races are jockeyed at a steady gallop until the straight, which can flatter some form.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Applying the course’s all-weather Tapeta pace data to the jumps course — they are separate tracks and the numbers don’t transfer.
Believing the jumps course was built as part of the 2016 all-weather redevelopment — it wasn’t; the turf National Hunt course is a separate, much older track the 2016 works never touched.
Assuming the Rehearsal Chase still carries Listed status — it lost that status in 2022 along with all handicaps nationally and is now a Premier Handicap.

Common Questions

Newcastle Racecourse FAQs

Is Newcastle’s jumps course the same as its all-weather track?

No. The floodlit Tapeta all-weather surface, installed in 2016, replaced only the flat turf racing surface. The turf National Hunt course is a separate, much older track that the 2016 redevelopment didn’t touch.

What is the Triple Crown of Hurdling?

The Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle, the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton, and the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. Only Kribensis has won all three, across the 1989–90 season.

Is there a genuine pace bias at Newcastle over jumps?

No quantified data exists for the jumps course specifically. Qualitatively, the sustained uphill finish means many races are run steadily until the home turn, generally favouring patient rides over out-and-out front-runners.

Why is the Eider Chase abandoned so often?

Run every February over a marathon 4m1½f trip, it’s exposed to the worst of the North East’s winter weather — at least 21 editions have been lost to snow, frost or waterlogging since the race began in 1952.

Explore

Other Jumps Tracks

Aintree

Home of the Grand National — Mildmay and National courses.

Kempton Park

Home of the King George — and the Christmas Hurdle, the Triple Crown’s second leg.

Doncaster

Fair, galloping left-hander — the Great Yorkshire Chase.

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