Wincanton Course Guide

Wincanton host Jump racing throughout the winter with the stand-out feature being the Kingwell Hurdle. Run over two miles in mid-February, the Grade 2 contest is a key Champion Hurdle trial, and the last one in the calendar. Several horses have won the Kingwell Hurdle then followed up at the Festival in the same season including Bula (1971 & 72), Lanzarote (1974), Kribensis (1990), Alderbrook (1995), Hors La Loi III (2002) and Katchit (2008). Other exceptional horses to win the race include Desert Orchid (1984), Azertyiuop (2001), Inglis Drever (2005) and Binocular (2012).

Wincanton also stages a valuable card in early November. The feature handicap is the listed Badger Ales Trophy, run over an extended three miles and one furlong, and it is supported by the Grade 2 Elite Hurdle and the two mile five furlong Rising Stars Novices Chase.

Jumps Racing

Right handed, flat and essentially sharp in character. One of the sharpest tests in the country when the ground is firmer than good, hold-up tactics usually counter-productive, but on very testing going the course can provide a surprisingly thorough test, often resulting in strung-out fields and a low percentage of completions, especially on the hurdles course, perhaps a cause of its fundamentally tight nature ensuring races are well run regardless of conditions, front runners often overdoing things. The fences are stiff and claim plenty of casualties, with the three in the home straight coming so close together that it often proves difficult to come from behind.

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.

View from the saddle: Mick Fitzgerald

Wincanton Top Times
Last 5 years

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
1m 7f 149y	Authoceltic (Good)	20 Nov 2025	3m 34.13s
2m 4f 35y	Boombawn (Good)	09 Nov 2024	4m 52.27s
3m 1f 30y	Mr Mafia (Good to Firm)	14 Oct 2021	6m 11.6s
3m 2f 162y	Irish Prophecy (Good)	24 Oct 2021	6m 37.33s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
1m 7f 50y	See The Sea (Good to Firm)	14 Oct 2021	3m 22.15s
2m 3f 166y	Beholden (Good to Firm)	14 Oct 2021	4m 33s
2m 5f 82y	Annie Magic (Good to Soft)	01 Dec 2022	4m 31.97s
3m 150y	Bethpage (Good)	24 Mar 2025	5m 55.76s

Distance	Horse (Going)	Date	Winning time
1m 7f 50y	Meatloaf (Good to Soft)	01 Dec 2022	3m 19.41s

Wincanton Top Trainers
Last 3 years (ordered by number of winners)

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
J Tizzard	76	9	44	£70,897	11.84%	-£23.38
A J Honeyball	40	8	19	£140,253	20%	-£8.25
P F Nicholls	35	7	14	£122,881	20%	-£16.84
D Pipe	28	5	11	£39,343	17.86%	£2.00
R Walford	25	4	14	£18,220	16%	-£10.92
Miss V Williams	22	3	13	£17,823	13.64%	-£0.50
J Scott	23	3	12	£18,616	13.04%	-£0.63
S Hosie	18	3	9	£18,219	16.67%	-£3.25
P Hobbs & J White	19	3	8	£16,107	15.79%	-£13.95
Miss E C Lavelle	14	3	6	£20,992	21.43%	-£6.25

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
P F Nicholls	98	29	36	£279,327	29.59%	-£14.59
J Tizzard	74	13	24	£113,613	17.57%	-£27.05
P Hobbs & J White	39	8	15	£56,322	20.51%	-£6.46
N P Mulholland	71	7	19	£29,232	9.86%	-£26.79
J Scott	45	6	20	£69,273	13.33%	-£8.27
A J Honeyball	55	5	20	£35,935	9.09%	-£3.00
Harry Derham	27	5	8	£25,605	18.52%	-£9.83
D Pipe	36	5	5	£27,412	13.89%	£30.50
Miss E C Lavelle	28	4	12	£21,883	14.29%	-£16.75
N J Henderson	19	4	4	£17,010	21.05%	-£8.72

Trainer	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
P F Nicholls	16	4	9	£14,637	25%	-£7.38
A J Honeyball	15	3	4	£7,013	20%	-£2.00
F O'Brien	8	3	1	£7,078	37.5%	£4.33
J Tizzard	9	2	3	£11,164	22.22%	£8.00
N J Henderson	7	1	3	£2,178	14.29%	-£4.63
Harry Derham	3	1	2	£2,178	33.33%	£6.00
Dan Skelton	4	1	1	£2,178	25%	£2.50
O Murphy	2	1	1	£2,112	50%	£0.00
S Thomas	2	1	0	£2,178	50%	-£0.56
T Lawes	1	1	0	£2,112	100%	£5.50

Wincanton Top Jockeys
Last 3 years (ordered by number of winners)

Chase
Hurdle
National Hunt Flat

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
H Cobden	28	7	11	£107,671	25%	-£15.25
Brendan Powell	50	6	30	£55,846	12%	-£14.38
Jack Tudor	20	5	10	£37,759	25%	£11.20
Rex Dingle	22	5	9	£115,037	22.73%	£0.88
Harry Kimber	25	4	15	£17,560	16%	£14.83
M G Nolan	21	4	10	£25,480	19.05%	£7.30
Sam Twiston-Davies	22	4	9	£24,821	18.18%	-£4.63
J J Burke	17	4	9	£19,672	23.53%	£3.83
Freddie Gingell	25	3	11	£25,746	12%	-£12.50
Ben Godfrey	24	3	9	£22,312	12.5%	-£6.50

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
H Cobden	64	22	27	£228,910	34.38%	£2.45
Brendan Powell	68	10	29	£94,884	14.71%	-£38.05
Sam Twiston-Davies	39	7	16	£29,191	17.95%	£0.50
M G Nolan	39	7	10	£44,031	17.95%	-£8.88
Lorcan Williams	38	5	12	£65,452	13.16%	-£10.47
Paul O'Brien	32	5	11	£26,124	15.63%	£23.17
Gearoid Harney	14	4	4	£24,293	28.57%	£31.00
Miss Olive Nicholls	12	4	4	£25,059	33.33%	£3.92
Sean Houlihan	46	3	19	£19,384	6.52%	-£24.75
James Best	47	3	12	£22,048	6.38%	-£35.25

Jockey	Runners	Wins	Places	Prize Money	Strike-Rate	P/L
H Cobden	10	3	7	£12,459	30%	-£4.38
J J Burke	10	2	2	£4,356	20%	-£0.17
James Bowen	6	2	1	£4,356	33.33%	£6.38
C Brace	3	2	1	£4,900	66.67%	£6.00
Brendan Powell	9	1	4	£2,178	11.11%	£4.00
Ben Godfrey	7	1	3	£2,112	14.29%	-£1.00
Rex Dingle	6	1	3	£2,723	16.67%	-£4.50
Sam Twiston-Davies	7	1	2	£2,178	14.29%	-£6.56
S Bowen	6	1	2	£2,112	16.67%	-£4.00
Jack Tudor	3	1	1	£2,178	33.33%	£10.00