Race type - Mixed
Lingfield
Course details
Racing on the Lingfield Park Estate dates back to the late nineteenth century but race-goers then would not recognise the place today. Originally a jumps course, the first flat meeting took place in 1894 and has continued since, except for during the war years, although the majority of the racing now takes place on the all-weather track, which was originally laid down in 1989.
GUIDE - For Racecourse
Left-handed, mixed, Polytrack, 1m2f circuit inside turf course, chute gives 1m4f start with gradual bend into the back straight.
Racing on the Lingfield Park Estate dates back to the late nineteenth century but race-goers then would not recognise the place today. Originally a jumps course, the first flat meeting took place in 1894 and has continued since, except for during the war years, although the majority of the racing now takes place on the all-weather track, which was originally laid down in 1989. Problems with the Equitrack surface soon surfaced and it was eventually decided to replace this with Polytrack in late 2001, much to the disdain of punters who had enjoyed a significant edge on the old surface.
Draw Bias
With the starts for both the 6f and 1m2f races being situated close to the first bend, it is an advantage to be drawn low. A low to middle draw is advantageous in races over 5f, although stall one has a surprisingly poor record, suggesting that the ground near the rail is far slower. These biases can change from meeting-to-meeting, however, and punters are best advised to check the early races for any clues. It can also pay to go against any perceived track draw biases as those horses drawn 'badly' will be often be a value price.
Principal Races
The standard of racing tends to be higher than on the other all-weather tracks and the course stages several valuable races, with the feature being the Winter Derby, which is a poor relation to the Epsom version (which is 2f longer) but still attracts the cream of those horse that have been strutting their stuff on the sand over the winter. It's run in late March and is quickly followed by the International Trial Stakes, which in 2011 was won by the near top class Dubawi Gold, who had previously collected the Listed Sprint Cup here. At the start of November, there are a further two Listed races: the Golden Rose Stakes and Churchill Stakes, which is often contested by horses from the top flat yards, the 2011 version falling to the Saeed Bin Suroor-trained Hunter's Light.
Course Characteristics
These days the surface is widely acclaimed to be amongst the best in the world and the course is in constant use throughout the year, helping to keep the 'show on the road' during spells of freezing weather. Whilst it is not every punter's cup of tea and many simply refuse to bet on it, it does lend itself to close and exciting racing with the lead changing hands several times in the last furlong. In-running punters should therefore be wary of taking a short price on a horse either leading or up with the pace as they swing into the straight, as they are often setting it up for the closers. The exception being when a jockey is dictating the pace from the front and has saved something up his sleeve for the finish, which the top riders can do in races in excess of a mile.
Top Trainers
Mark Johnston has few peers when it comes to training winners on the all-weather (he's a dab hand on turf too!) and he tops the table here numerically over the past five seasons with 66 winners. Not be outdone, though, are the stables of Gary Moore and Richard Hannon (64 & 63 respectively), although neither are worth following blind given the number of losers they train too. Jim Boyle and JS Moore also like to have a winner here, and more recently Jeremy Noseda has found this a happy hunting ground with three winners from just 10 runners in 2011.
Top Jockeys
Both George Baker and Jim Crowley ride this circuit extremely well and their tally of winners in the last five seasons stands at 174 (88 and 86 respectively). They are superb judges of pace and that is just the ticket round here. The vastly improved Luke Morris is hot on their tails, though, with 65 winners and his opportunities are increasing by the week. Also in demand by trainers are Neil Callan (60) and Liam Keniry (58), although the latter rides plenty of losers too and anyone backing his rides blind would have been well out of pocket. One up-and-coming jockey is Raul Da Silva, who is excellent value for his claim and excels over sprint distances.