Kauto Star Novices’ Chase

The Kauto Star Novices’ Chase is a Grade 1 steeplechase run over 3 miles at Kempton on Boxing Day. As the name suggests, the race is restricted to ‘novice’ steeplechasers which, in this case, means horses aged four years and upwards who, prior to the start of the current season, have yet to win a steeplechase.

The Kauto Star Novices’ Chase was inaugurated, as the Feltham Novices’ Chase, in 1975, but the name of Nigel Clark, late president of Kempton Park, was added to the race title in 2007. Likewise, the name of Kauto Star, who won the King George VI Chase five times from six attempts between 2006 and 2011, was added to the race title following his retirment from racing in October, 2012. The latter name change was made permanent the following year, such that the race has been run as the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase (In Memory Of Nigel Clark) ever since.

Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson, who, between them, have farmed the National Hunt Trainers’ Championship since the retirement of Martin Pipe, are the leading trainers in the history of the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase, with five wins apiece. Nicholls, though, has been the more successful of the pair in recent seasons, having saddled Black Corton (2017) and Bravemansgame (2021)

In 2015, the now-retired Lizzie Kelly made turf history by winning the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase on Tea For Two, trained by Nick Williams; in so doing, she became the first female jockey to win a Grade 1 race over obstacles in Britain. Other notable winners in recent years include Long Run (2009), who went on win the King George VI Chase and Cheltenham Gold Cup in the 2011/12 season, and Coneygree (2014) who, less than three months later, became the first novice to win the Cheltenham Gold Cup since Captain Christy in 1974.

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Windsor Racecourse

Windsor Racecourse is often referred to as Royal Windsor because of its proximity to the official Royal residence of Windsor Castle, which lies less than two miles to the east along the banks of the River Thames. Windsor Racecourse is famous for its Monday evening fixtures, the first of which took place in 1964 and, as part of the Arena Racing Company (ARC), stages at total of 26 Flat fixtures throughout the season.

 

Course Characteristics

The round course at Windsor is a fairly sharp figure of eight, just over a mile and a half around, with a five-furlong home straight. The sharpness of the course is reduced, in part, by the length of the home straight, which affords big, long-striding horses plenty of time to find their stride. Races over 6 furlongs start on a chute that joins the round course at the top of the home straight. On the straight course, horses drawn high, near the far side rail, have a distinct advantage on soft ground.

Track Facts

In the days before his knighthood, Gordon Richards broke Fred Archer’s record of 2,748 career winners at Windsor in 1943.

In 1966, one of the loops on the figure of eight course was tightened, so that races over two and a half miles were no longer possible.

In October 2012, Richard Hughes completed a 10,168/1 seven-timer at Windsor and, in so doing, became just the second jockey to ride seven winners on a single card in Britain.

The Winter Hill Stakes, a Group 3 contest run over a mile and a quarter in August, is the only Pattern race of the year at Windsor.

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Which is the oldest racecourse in Britain?

The oldest racecourse in Britain is Chester Racecourse, a.k.a. the ‘Roodee’, or ‘Roodeye’, which stands on the banks of the River Dee in Cheshire, North West England. Chester Racecourse was founded in 1539, during the Dissolution of the Monasteries, by the so-called ‘Reforming Mayor of Chester’, Henry Gee, and staged its first recorded meeting in February that year. Gee subsequently decreed that horse racing should be staged annually on Shrove Tuesday and, 480 years later, Chester was officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the ‘oldest racecourse still in operation’, not just in Britain, but anywhere in the world.

‘Roodeye’ is derived from the Saxon word ‘rood’ meaning ‘cross’ and the Norse word ‘eye’, hence ‘Island of the Cross’. Chester was established as a harbour by the Romans but, by Saxon times, silt built up in the River Dee to create a small island, which once bore a stone cross. The remnants of the cross can still be seen in the middle of the modern racecourse. Racing at Chester has been interrupted by major events, including the English Civil War, World War I and World War II, but otherwise has been staged almost continuously since the first half of the sixteenth century.

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Tokyo Racecourse

Tokyo Racecourse is situated in Fuchu City, a suburb of the Tokyo-Yokohama Metropolitan Area, on the island of Honshu, Japan. The racecourse was built in 1933 and today, under the auspices of the Japanese Racing Association, is famous as the home of the Japanese Derby, the Japanese Oaks and the Japan Cup, which is run over 2, 400 metres, or approximately 1½ miles, on the last Sunday in November each year. In terms of prestige, the Japan Cup, worth ¥521 million, or £3.27 million, in total prize money, ranks alongside the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and the Melbourne Cup.

 

Course Characteristics

The turf course at Tokyo is a left-handed oval, a little over 10 furlongs in circumference with wide, sweeping turns and a home straight just over 2½ furlongs in length. The course features undulations throughout, but the home straight is notably uphill before levelling out for the last furlong or so. The dirt course, which runs inside the turf course, has a circumference of just under 9½ furlongs.

 

Track Facts

The highest one-day attendance at Tokyo racecourse was 196,517 on May 27, 1990.

The last Japan Cup winner trained outside Japan was Alkaased, trained by Luca Cumani and ridden by Frankie Dettori, in 2005.

No horse has won the Japan Cup more than once.

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Sha Tin Racecourse

Sha Tin Racecourse occupies 70 hectares of reclaimed land to the northeast of Sha Tin town centre in the New Territories region of Hong Kong. The racecourse was originally opened in 1978, but underwent a series of major improvements, including the world’s first retractable roof above the parade ring, in 2004. Sha Tin Racecourse stages a total of 51 fixtures between September and June, generally on Saturday, but occasionally on Sunday and public holidays. Today, Sha Tin Racecourse is famous as the home of four Group 1 races, the Hong Kong Cup, the Hong Kong Mile, the Hong Kong Vase and the Hong Kong Sprint, all of which are run on the same day in December.

 

Course Characteristics

The turf track at Sha Tin is a right-handed, galloping oval, just under 9½ furlongs in circumference, with a 2-furlong home straight. The dirt track, which runs inside the turf track, is 7¾ furlongs in circumference with a home straight just under 2 furlongs in length. Both tracks have a safety limit of 14 runners.

 

Track Facts

The Hong Kong Cup, inaugurated in 1988, was Hong Kong’s first international race.

The Diamond Vision screen at Sha Tin is the longest television display in the world.

The Chinese New Year meeting at Sha Tin, usually held on the third day of the Chinese New Year, is the most popular horse racing event of the year in Hong Kong.

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