Key Characteristics
Catterick Bridge Racecourse is situated in the North East and is a nice blend of old and new with the original 100 year old grandstand still in place.
Catterick is a very sharp track, and like Brighton is certainly a racecourse for specialists.
5 furlong races start on a separate chute and are downhill, with the first furlong being quite an extreme downhill section, to the 2 furlong pole when the ground rises with a second less dramatic rise at the 1 furlong pole. Then at the 1/2 furlong marker the ground flattens or is slightly downhill.
On the round course the ground drops downhill from the start of the back straight before taking a sharp rise just before the final bend. Then it’s downhill again as you go round the bend. When you come out into the straight there is just over 2 furlongs to go and you hit the rise just before the 2 furlong pole an then on up to the finish.
The course certainly doesn’t suit galloping types and is ideal for the small nimble horse.
Draw Bias & Pace Analysis
The 5 furlong races at Catterick are run from a shute around a slight left handed dog leg, and the stats suggest that being low is slightly favoured. But the bias isn’t massive. When the ground is soft then the low drawn bias is perhaps a bit larger.
6 furlong races are very interesting as they are run on the round course with the first furlong is steeply downhill and then quite steeply uphill to the bend. The nature of the track means that high drawn horses can’t go fast enough to get to the lead and so have to sit in behind or race wide (both major disadvantages). On good ground or better more than twice as many low drawn horses win as high. On soft, probably because they race up the stands rails, high numbers have a slight advantage.
Catterick is a very sharp downhill course and is a front runners dream, with the analysis indicating that it is very hard for hold up horses to win at Catterick. In terms of the individual distances, Catterick is very high up the table of racecourses where it is easiest to front run and win.
5 Furlongs – 2nd out of 31 courses
6 Furlongs – 3rd out of 28 courses
7 Furlongs – 5th out of 22 courses
“The dips and rolls at Catterick catch out plenty of horses and you often see hotpots from the south turned over because they can’t handle them. I’d compare the track to The Low Moor at Middleham and anything used to galloping on that should be alright. It’s certainly a big advantage for a jockey to be on one that can kick on from the home turn in the longer races, especially on fast ground, because it’s really hard to make up the leeway. Lots of Catterick races are lost early on by a lack of tactical pace”. – Jason Weaver
Trainers & Jockeys
Richard Fahey, Michael Bell, Keith Dalgleish, Brian Ellison, John Quinn and Mark Johnston.
Paul Mulrennan, Jack Garrity, P J McDonald, Jason Hart and Daniel Tudhope.
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