Race type - Flat
Thirsk
Course details
Racing has been taking place in the this beautiful part of Yorkshire since the 17th century and, indeed, there are records to show that King James I donated a gold cup as the prize for the 'Royal Plate' of 1612.
GUIDE - For Racecourse
Left-handed, flattened oval circuit of just over 1m2f, spur for straight 5f and 6f races.
Racing has been taking place in the this beautiful part of Yorkshire since the 17th century and, indeed, there are records to show that King James I donated a gold cup as the prize for the 'Royal Plate' of 1612. However, it was not until 1855 that the current site was chosen to build a racecourse, with the appointment of Thomas Dawson as clerk of the course in 1875 a masterstroke as he increased prize money significantly, thereby attracting owners and trainers from further afield. So successful was the course that it once again enjoyed royal patronage when Edward the Prince of Wales (the future King Edward VII) opened a new grandstand here in 1895. Fast forward to the modern day and the track is thriving with 14 flat fixtures held between April and September.
Track / Draw Bias:
A very significant bias used to exist here on account of the old watering system, which was badly affected by the breeze. However, that has been eradicated to a large extent by the introduction of a brand new watering system and any biases these days are far less predictable, which is bad news for punters. Field sizes, the going and watering policy are the three key variables. In small fields (less than 12 say), the runners tend to stay in one group and come up the stands' rail, which gives high numbers a slight edge. In bigger fields and on watered fast ground, the runners tend to split and either rail can enjoy an edge - the one place not to be is up the centre. On rain softened ground, the ground against the far rail (low numbers) tends to ride faster and the softer the ground, the greater the advantage.
Principal Races:
The racing here tends to be modest but the Thirsk Hunt Cup, which is a handicap run over 1m at the early May meeting, carries decent prize money (£13k in 2011) and is highly competitive as a result. In early September and on 'Ladies' Day', they race for the Hambleton Cup over 1m4f.
Course Characteristics:
The racing circuit at Thirsk is almost completely flat and its flattened oval shape makes for some sharp turns, which tends to favour the nippier more speedy type of horse. Those horses that lie handy close to the pace have a good record and front runners can make all. The run-in is 3f in length and this is extended by a 3f chute, which starts near the railway station at the far end of the course, thus creating a straight course to accommodate races over 5f and 6f.
Top Trainers
The big southern stables do have the odd runner here and these tend to be overbet, but the winners are shared out equally amongst the big northern stables with no-one trainer dominating. That said, you won't go too far wrong following the runners of Tim Easterby, David Nicholls, Mark Johnston, Kevin Ryan and Richard Fahey, with the latter boasting the best strike rate of 17% over the past five seasons. Michael Dods has a small stable in comparison but his 14 winners qualifies him as a trainer to stay on the right side of.
Top Jockeys:
As you'd expect it's the jockeys that ride for the above trainers that do best. Paul Hanagan (Richard Fahey) and Silvestre De Sousa (Mark Johnston) lead the way with 19 wins apiece and counting since 2007 and while they are both likely to be seen in action down south more often from 2012 onwards, they should continue to pay their way here. Other riders to note are McDonald, David Allan, Phillip Makin and Joe Fanning, all of whom make the most of their opportunities.