Race type - Mixed
Catterick
Course details
Racing at Catterick Bridge dates back to 1783 but it wasn't until 1813 that a permanent course was built on the site. The tiny hamlet which gives the course its name is comprised of a few houses and a pub (busy on race days!) and racegoers in this pretty part of North Yorkshire could be excused for thinking they have stepped back in time.
The flat course is just over a mile in circumference, which makes it one of the sharpest tracks in the country. The term 'horses for courses' very much applies here.
GUIDE - For Racecourse
Left-handed, mixed, oval circuit of 1m198yards, spur provides start for 5f, 1m4f and 1m6f races
Racing at Catterick Bridge, to give the course its full name, as been going on since the late 18th century and it's popularity amongst the locals ensured it became a regular fixture as early as 1813. These days it's a busy little course with its National Hunt programme in the winter nicely complemented by 17 flat fixtures from April to late October. Granted, the standard of racing is low and it's rare to spot a future champion in action, but that doesn't stop the crowds from converging here with the course's accessibility - it's a mere five miles south of Scotch Corner on the A1 - a major plus.
Track / Draw Bias
This is very much ground dependant. When the ground is testing, the stands' rail is definitely the place to be, which gives a a big advantage to high numbers in 5f races and higher-drawn prominent racers at all other distances. However, when the ground is good or faster, horses drawn on the inside (low) often hold an edge, and identifying those horses that are likely to blast out of the gate and race hard against the rail has proved highly lucrative in the past. This bias is even more pronounced on firm going that has been well-watered.
Principal Races
It's moderate fare here to say the least but the Catterick Dash, which is a 5f handicap run at the October meeting, carried a purse of over £9k in 2011, making it the richest race run at the track. At the other end of the season, the Richmond Conditions Stakes in April also carries decent prize money, but perhaps the most celebrated race held here is the Gods Solution Handicap, which is named in honour of the popular course specialist who won this race six times in the 1980s when it was known as the Race Around Yorkshire Handicap. A racecourse bar also carries his name and some of the older racegoers still raise a glass (or two) to him.
Course Characteristics
The flat course is just over a mile in circumference, which makes it one of the sharpest tracks in the country, and the four bends (more like corners) take plenty of negotiating. The runners also have to contend with some serious downhill sections with the last 7f on the round course being virtually all downhill. On the straight 5f course, which is created by the addition of a spur at the end of the home straight, the runners also have to travel downhill and markedly so for the first furlong. As you'd expect, it's the smaller more nimble horses that cope best with the longer-striding galloping types seriously disadvantaged. The term 'horses for courses' very much applies here.
Top Trainers
David Nicholls, who trains locally in North Yorkshire, leads the way numerically with 28 winners in the past five seasons. Known as the 'Sprint King', he's always to be feared in 5f and 6f races, where he's usually mob-handed, but he does train the odd two-year-old winner here too and you would have made a tasty profit backing all his runners here in that time. Other local trainers to make their mark here are Tim Easterby, Mark Johnston, Kevin Ryan and Richard Fahey, while more recently it's been the turn of Ruth Carr, with five of her 24 runners in 2011 being led into the winner's enclosure.
Top Jockeys
No jockey rides the track better than Silvestre De Sousa with the Brazilian's tally since 2007 standing at 42, and backers of all his rides would have enjoyed a massive level stakes profit of over £110. He's now one of Godolphin's three retained riders but has vowed to continue riding in the north when he can in pursuit of the jockey's title, which is good news for punters and bad news for bookmakers of course. His big rival and current champion Paul Hanagan also does well here but he too will be riding in the south more in future and that should further the opportunities for PJ McDonald, David Allan and Paul Mulrennan, all of whom ride the track well.