Racecourse Guide

Wincanton
National Hunt

Somerset · One of the minority of right-handed jumps courses in England

⬤ National Hunt
Turf
Right-Handed
Downhill Run-in

Shape

Right-Handed ~1m3f

Track Type

Galloping, Sharp Bends

Fences

9 per circuit, 2 ditches + water

Hurdles

5 per circuit

Run-in

200 yards, downhill

Direction

Right-handed

Course Highlight

Kingwell Hurdle Grade 2, Feb

Founded

1867 current site since 1927

Course Overview

What is Wincanton like as a jumps track?

Wincanton races right-handed, which puts it in a small minority — most English jumps courses go the other way. It’s a roughly rectangular circuit of about 1 mile 3 furlongs, usually described as galloping in overall shape but riding sharp because of its tight-radius bends; both are accurate, not a contradiction. The defining geographic feature is the run downhill virtually all the way from the home turn to the line, with minor undulations elsewhere that favour speedier types over out-and-out stayers.

There are 9 fences a circuit, including 2 open ditches and a water jump — the water jump comes first after the winning post, followed by four more fences down the back straight. The fences themselves are widely described as stiff and testing. The course’s real jumping signature is the last three fences in the home straight, taken in very quick succession: they make mounting a comeback from behind genuinely difficult and are the reason for many of Wincanton’s more dramatic finishes. There are 5 flights of hurdles a circuit. The run-in is 200 yards.

Wincanton has been part of what’s now Jockey Club Racecourses since 1966, when it became only the second course (after Cheltenham in 1964) to join what was then the Racecourse Holdings Trust. Racing here dates to 1 August 1867 at Hatherleigh Farm; the course moved to its current site at Kingwell Farm in 1927 after the Hatherleigh lease expired. The intervening decades weren’t smooth — the track was requisitioned during both World Wars, and in 1945 it was derelict and failed to sell at auction before a local syndicate, assembled within a 48-hour option window, rescued it and staged the first post-war meeting that October.

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.Mick Fitzgerald, former top jump jockey — At The Races

Course Facts

Founded First meeting 1 August 1867 at Hatherleigh Farm; moved to the current Kingwell Farm site in 1927
Ownership Jockey Club Racecourses since 1966 — the second course to join after Cheltenham (1964)
1945 rescue The course was derelict and unsold at auction until a local syndicate secured it within a 48-hour option

The Circuit

Direction Right-handed — unusual; most English jumps courses run left-handed
Run-in 200 yards, downhill virtually all the way from the home turn
Signature test Last three fences in the home straight, jumped in rapid succession

Notable Races

When does Wincanton race?

Grade 2

Kingwell Hurdle

Run over ~2 miles, held in February. First run 1971, Grade 2 since 1991 — a genuine Champion Hurdle trial. Winners going on to that season’s Champion Hurdle include Bula, Lanzarote, Kribensis and Katchit.

Grade 2

Elite Hurdle

Run over 1m7f, held in Early November. Moved here from Cheltenham in 1994. Azertyuiop won in 2001 before later landing the Arkle and Champion Chase; Sceau Royal won it three times.

Listed

Badger Ales Trophy

Run over 3m1f, held in Early November. A premier handicap chase run on the same card as the Elite Hurdle, alongside the Grade 2 Rising Stars Novices’ Chase.

Wincanton’s ceiling is Grade 2 — no Grade 1 race is run here, worth stating plainly rather than over-claiming. Desert Orchid has the strongest individual link to the course: he won the Kingwell (as a novice hurdler in 1983–84, then again in 1989), and the track later named a chase in his honour. In a neat twist, Desert Orchid himself was beaten in the Desert Orchid Chase in his final season, 1990–91.

Pace Bias

Do front-runners win at Wincanton?

The qualitative case for a front-running bias here is real and widely repeated: general course-guide commentary consistently says prominent racers do best, especially in handicap chases at 2m1½f and under, and especially on faster ground where hold-up tactics are said to be counter-productive. Wincanton is also grouped among the courses with the strongest recorded pace bias. What’s missing is a hard number specific to this course — Wincanton doesn’t appear in the ranked top-10 lists for front-running strike rate, and no percentage or Impact Value for the course could be sourced independently. Treat the direction of the bias as well-established and any specific percentage quoted for it as unconfirmed.

Run Style — Qualitative Assessment Only

Front-runners / Prominent

Favoured, esp. on faster ground

Hold-up

Downhill run-in leaves little room to attack

Statistics · Since 2010

Which trainers and jockeys win most at Wincanton?

Trainer	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Nicholls, P F	876	250	28.54%	443	50.57%	0.93	-97.30
2 Hobbs, P J / White, J	520	75	14.42%	189	36.35%	0.87	-126.39
3 Pipe, D E	394	61	15.48%	132	33.50%	1.02	-39.09
4 Scott, J	365	51	13.97%	114	31.23%	1.04	+70.25
5 Mulholland, N P	475	42	8.84%	138	29.05%	0.77	-161.11
6 Lavelle, Miss E C	229	40	17.47%	94	41.05%	1.05	-15.24
7 Fry, Harry	222	38	17.12%	95	42.79%	0.89	-36.23
8 King, A	280	37	13.21%	121	43.21%	0.68	-124.16
9 Honeyball, A J	266	33	12.41%	81	30.45%	0.88	-33.05
10 Henderson, N J	156	29	18.59%	59	37.82%	0.75	-53.44
11 Williams, Miss Venetia	231	27	11.69%	75	32.47%	0.73	-94.84
12 Tizzard, Joe	208	27	12.98%	69	33.17%	0.77	-7.41
13 George, T R	193	26	13.47%	75	38.86%	0.82	-63.88
14 Walford, Robert	195	21	10.77%	54	27.69%	0.82	-64.57
15 Twiston-Davies, N A	145	21	14.48%	55	37.93%	0.96	+8.79
16 Gordon, C	130	21	16.15%	39	30.00%	1.32	+34.83
17 Mullins, J W	303	20	6.60%	56	18.48%	0.75	-162.37
18 Moore, Gary and Josh	165	20	12.12%	51	30.91%	0.82	-41.98
19 Bailey, K C	132	20	15.15%	43	32.58%	0.98	-8.20
20 Skelton, Daniel	138	19	13.77%	40	28.99%	0.85	-32.53

Wincanton NH, since 2010. Paul Nicholls is overwhelmingly the local yard — 250 winners from 876 at 28.54% — but at A/E 0.93 and £97.30 down the market has him fully covered. J Scott is the one trainer in real profit at +£70.25 and A/E 1.04. David Pipe is fair at 1.02. The value below the table is Chris Gordon: 21 winners from 130 runners at A/E 1.32 and +£34.83. Oppose Mark Gillard (174 runners, A/E 0.61) and Alan King (280, A/E 0.68, £124.16 down). Note the trainer table includes Joe Tizzard; his old rides are excluded from the jockey table, where he is a retired rider.
wincanton NH · Current trainers, since 2010

Jockey	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Cobden, Harry	414	126	30.43%	230	55.56%	1.01	+5.77
2 Twiston-Davies, Sam	314	58	18.47%	122	38.85%	0.81	-90.31
3 Powell, Brendan	401	47	11.72%	130	32.42%	0.79	-67.10
4 Sheehan, Gavin	144	27	18.75%	58	40.28%	1.19	+25.71
5 Cannon, Tom J	225	26	11.56%	62	27.56%	0.92	-12.67
6 Bellamy, Tom	201	24	11.94%	71	35.32%	0.89	-82.44
7 Nolan, Michael G	249	23	9.24%	61	24.50%	0.95	-69.24
8 Williams, Lorcan	140	23	16.43%	57	40.71%	0.99	-3.43
9 Dingle, Rex	147	22	14.97%	46	31.29%	1.20	+75.34
10 Frost, Bryony	120	21	17.50%	47	39.17%	0.90	-10.01
11 O’Farrell, C	129	20	15.50%	34	26.36%	1.30	+0.75
12 Skelton, Harry	124	18	14.52%	43	34.68%	0.79	-29.83
13 Bowen, Sean P	114	18	15.79%	38	33.33%	0.93	-23.18
14 Best, J A	331	17	5.14%	71	21.45%	0.57	-200.61
15 Obrien, P V	129	17	13.18%	39	30.23%	1.09	-2.42
16 Davies, James	196	16	8.16%	26	13.27%	1.24	+37.83
17 Burke, Jonathan	119	14	11.76%	36	30.25%	0.81	-63.75
18 Bass, David	106	14	13.21%	32	30.19%	0.83	-5.95
19 Tudor, Jack	95	14	14.74%	28	29.47%	1.24	+1.13
20 Bowen, James C	107	13	12.15%	29	27.10%	0.69	-33.04

Wincanton NH, since 2010. Harry Cobden is the dominant rider and, unusually, marginally profitable — 126 winners from 414 at 30.43%, A/E 1.01 and +£5.77. Gavin Sheehan tops the visible table on value at A/E 1.19 and +£25.71. Sam Twiston-Davies is A/E 0.81 and £90.31 down. Below the table, Jordan Nailor has returned +£68.20 from 41 rides at A/E 1.95, the sharpest figure here. Oppose J A Best (331 rides, A/E 0.57, £200.61 down) and Sean Houlihan (187, A/E 0.59) — two of the weakest sustained rider records in the library.
wincanton NH · Current riders, since 2010

Sire Statistics · Since 2010

Which sires do best at Wincanton?

Sire	Runs	Wins	Win%	Places	Place%	A/E	P/L
1 Presenting	327	50	15.29%	103	31.50%	0.97	-63.63
2 Kayf Tara	320	45	14.06%	114	35.63%	0.88	-101.92
3 King’s Theatre (IRE)	264	41	15.53%	89	33.71%	0.86	-68.84
4 Midnight Legend	255	35	13.73%	87	34.12%	1.06	-25.37
5 Oscar (IRE)	229	33	14.41%	74	32.31%	1.12	-36.01
6 Milan	268	30	11.19%	80	29.85%	0.81	-52.09
7 Flemensfirth (USA)	250	30	12.00%	75	30.00%	0.81	-51.83
8 Westerner	193	28	14.51%	65	33.68%	0.90	-42.12
9 Getaway (GER)	229	26	11.35%	65	28.38%	0.87	-55.69
10 Yeats (IRE)	151	20	13.25%	59	39.07%	0.91	-25.53
11 Beneficial	170	19	11.18%	54	31.76%	0.81	-57.57
12 Saint Des Saints (FR)	68	18	26.47%	36	52.94%	1.20	+63.87
13 Black Sam Bellamy (IRE)	139	17	12.23%	45	32.37%	0.90	-65.51
14 Fame And Glory	102	17	16.67%	35	34.31%	1.03	-26.18
15 Old Vic	97	16	16.49%	39	40.21%	0.81	-31.32
16 Shirocco (GER)	126	15	11.90%	37	29.37%	0.88	-5.64
17 Scorpion (IRE)	111	15	13.51%	26	23.42%	0.99	-40.92
18 Walk In The Park (IRE)	99	15	15.15%	40	40.40%	0.76	-43.95
19 Kapgarde (FR)	94	15	15.96%	28	29.79%	0.95	-33.50
20 Mahler	126	14	11.11%	42	33.33%	0.75	-49.59

Wincanton NH, since 2010. A flat page: Presenting leads on 50 winners at A/E 0.97 and nothing of real volume beats its price by much, with Oscar (A/E 1.12) and Midnight Legend (1.06) the only two above fair. Kayf Tara is the biggest loss at £101.92 and A/E 0.88. The value is all on short books below the table — Winged Love has returned +£50.60 from 41 runners at A/E 1.81, Daylami 1.81 from 40 and Dr Massini 1.50 from 69. Treat those as pointers on a fast, sharp track rather than signals.
wincanton NH · Since 2010

How to read these tables. The figures are a first-party pull for this course and code covering runs since 1 January 2010, taken as a snapshot rather than updated live. A/E compares actual wins with the wins implied by starting price, so a figure above 1.00 means the group has won more often than its SP suggested. P/L is profit or loss to £1 win stakes at starting price.

Insider Knowledge

Betting Angles

🔄

Right-Handed Form Reads Best

Wincanton is one of the minority of right-handed English jumps tracks, so favour horses proven going this way and treat strong left-handed form with a little caution.

🏇

Paul Nicholls Dominates Like Nowhere Else

472 winners from 1,691 runners (28%) — his single most dominant course by margin, per Racing Post.

⬇️

Speed Beats Stamina Downhill

The run from the home turn is downhill nearly all the way, favouring speedier types over out-and-out stayers — and a lead taken turning in is hard to reel back over the 200-yard run-in.

🎯

The Last Three Fences Decide It

Wincantons final three fences come in quick succession and are stiff — a fluent jumper still travelling at the home turn is very hard to pass, so comebacks from off the pace rarely succeed.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Demanding a hard percentage for Wincanton’s front-running bias. No Impact Value or strike rate for the course has been independently sourced — the lean toward prominent racers on faster ground is real and widely repeated, but back the shape, not an invented number.
Backing a hold-up horse to reel one in late. The run to the line is downhill nearly all the way and the last three fences come in rapid succession — a horse still travelling into that sequence is very hard to pass, so comebacks from off the pace rarely land.
Treating left-handed course form as a like-for-like guide here. Wincanton is one of the minority of right-handed English jumps tracks — favour horses already proven going this way and take strong left-handed-only form with a little caution.

Common Questions

Wincanton Racecourse FAQs

Is Wincanton left-handed or right-handed?

Right-handed — one of the minority of English jumps courses to race that way. It’s a roughly rectangular ~1m3f circuit that gallops in shape but rides sharp because of its tight bends.

Who owns Wincanton Racecourse?

Jockey Club Racecourses, since 1966 — the second course to join what’s now that group, after Cheltenham in 1964. Arena Racing Company provides some owners’-badge services here but does not operate the course.

Does Wincanton have any Grade 1 races?

No. Its ceiling is Grade 2 — the Kingwell Hurdle and Elite Hurdle both hold that grade, alongside the Listed Badger Ales Trophy.

Is there a pace bias at Wincanton?

Qualitatively, yes — front-runners and prominent racers are widely reported to do well, especially on faster ground, and the downhill run-in leaves hold-up horses little room to attack. No specific percentage or Impact Value for the course could be independently sourced, so treat the direction as well-established and any precise number with caution.

Explore

Other Jumps Tracks

Taunton

Somerset neighbour, one of Britain’s strongest front-running biases.

Exeter

Right-handed West Country track, Britain’s highest racecourse.

Newton Abbot

Left-handed, Britain’s premier summer jumping venue.

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