Kempton Course Guide
The closest racecourse to central London, situated 16 miles south-west of Trafalgar Square, Kempton Park is famously home of the Christmas jumping showpiece, the King George VI Chase. First run in 1937, the three-mile chase is the second-most important steeplechase in the calendar and boasts a roll of honour equal to the Gold Cup itself. The big race is the feature on a brilliant Boxing Day card that also includes the Grade 1 Christmas Hurdle and Feltham Novices’ Chase.
Other significant jump races at Kempton are the Lanzarote Hurdle in late January and, a month later, the Betbright Chase – a handicap over three miles won in the past by Desert Orchid and Rough Quest.
Kempton now stages flat racing throughout the year after its turf course was replaced with a Polytrack synthetic surface in 2006. All of Kempton’s historic races have been transferred to the ‘all-weather’ including the Easter Stakes, Magnolia Stakes and Rosebery Handicap.
Advance Going
Kempton switched to an all-weather track in 2006 and the surface in use is polytrack. Kempton is a flat, oval-shaped course with two loops. The inner circuit, used for races over five, nine and ten furlongs is sharp and has a finishing straight of just under two furlongs, favouring the speedy, handy type, particularly over the minimum trip. The turn on the outer course is more sweeping and the straight is almost three furlongs, making for a more straightforward test. Over both five and six furlongs, there is a relatively short run to the first bend.
The way the track is prepared at Kempton can play a massive part in whether it suits front-runners or horses coming from behind. Most of the time, the going is officially rated ‘standard’ but I know, from having ridden in America, that all artificial surfaces are dependent on weather conditions. An inside draw is a big advantage on the round course, as you don’t want to be running wide, and there’s a tendency for jockeys to get going a long from home. My preference would be to use patient tactics.
View from the saddle: Jason Weaver
Right handed, flat. Very fair with relatively easy fences, the course characteristics having seemingly remained the same since the opening of the all-weather circuit. Can represent a much stiffer test of stamina than expected on soft/heavy going.
It’s changed a fair bit in recent years, with the Polytrack crossings and all, but I’d still have to say it’s one of my favourite courses. It’s a great test and a fair test. You need a horse that travels and jumps, though, and one of the things you always notice around Kempton is that lots of runners are usually in contention turning in, but those same horses are often well spaced out by the time they get to the last. It’s only a short run from the home turn to that obstacle, but only horses that are travelling well are able to take a breather on that section, while those that have been struggling are having to work too hard to last home.
View from the saddle: Mick Fitzgerald
Upcoming races
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20:00 Try Unibet's New Improved Acca Boosts Apprentice Handicap
(Class 5) (7f) -
20:30 Unibet Supports Safer Gambling EBF Novice Stakes (GBB Race)
(Class 3) (7f) -
21:00 Unibet Interactive Maiden Fillies' Stakes (GBB Race)
(Class 3) (7f) -
21:30 Unibet More Extra Place Races Fillies' Novice Stakes (GBB/GBBPlus Race)
(Class 3) (1m 2f 219y) -
22:00 Try Unibet's New Smartview Racecards Handicap
(Class 6) (7f) -
22:30 Get Daily Price Boosts At Unibet Handicap
(Class 5) (6f) -
23:00 Set Your Limits With Unibet Handicap
(Class 5) (1m 7f 218y) -
23:30 Unibet 3 Uniboosts A Day Handicap
(Class 6) (1m)
Results
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Distance Horse (Going) Date Winning time 2m Mambonumberfive (Good) 27 Dec 2025 3m 45.51s 2m 2f Bluey (Good) 19 Oct 2025 4m 18.95s 2m 4f 110y Barlovento (Good) 26 Dec 2025 4m 59.21s 3m Karl Philippe (Good) 06 May 2024 4m 12.96s Distance Horse (Going) Date Winning time 2m Sir Gino (Good) 26 Dec 2025 3m 41.29s 2m 5f Turndlightsdownlow (Good) 19 Oct 2025 4m 59s 3m 110y Halifax (Good) 06 May 2024 5m 15.35s Distance Horse (Going) Date Winning time 2m Fine Shot (Good to Soft-Soft in places) 21 Feb 2026 3m 47.62s Distance Horse (Going) Date Winning time 5f Pablo Del Pueblo (Standard / Slow) 17 Jan 2023 59.32s 6f Night Raider (Standard / Slow) 02 Oct 2024 1m 10.08s 7f King Zain (Standard / Slow) 04 May 2022 1m 23.82s 1m Zoffandia (Standard / Slow) 18 Feb 2026 1m 36.45s 1m 1f 219y Gethin (Standard / Slow) 06 Apr 2026 2m 3.65s 1m 3f Gamrai (Standard to Slow) 28 Mar 2026 2m 17.19s 1m 3f 219y Shader (Standard / Slow) 03 Nov 2025 2m 29.45s 1m 7f 218y Cool Party (Standard / Slow) 29 Mar 2025 3m 25.33s -
Trainer Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L B Pauling 18 8 £326K 44.44% £22.79 N J Henderson 37 6 £117K 16.22% -£15.18 A King 20 6 £100K 30% £6.41 P F Nicholls 40 4 £121K 10% -£23.13 J Tizzard 31 4 £45K 12.9% -£10.75 O Murphy 14 4 £33K 28.57% -£3.91 Jamie Snowden 8 4 £28K 50% £8.00 T Lacey 10 4 £78K 40% £8.96 Dan Skelton 50 3 £87K 6% -£43.88 F O'Brien 11 3 £31K 27.27% £5.50 Trainer Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L N J Henderson 52 19 £390K 36.54% £14.52 P F Nicholls 51 8 £156K 15.69% -£35.40 Dan Skelton 51 7 £127K 13.73% £1.23 Harry Derham 30 7 £96K 23.33% -£10.72 F O'Brien 26 5 £62K 19.23% -£12.13 A King 31 3 £17K 9.68% -£27.88 K C Bailey 16 3 £15K 18.75% -£0.55 M Keighley 10 3 £14K 30% £0.70 T Lawes 7 3 £24K 42.86% £10.13 G & J Moore 56 2 £15K 3.57% -£48.75 Trainer Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L C Gordon 7 3 £8K 42.86% £10.50 A King 7 1 £3K 14.29% £4.00 B Pauling 6 1 £9K 16.67% -£3.25 N J Henderson 3 1 £3K 33.33% -£2.50 F O'Brien 3 1 £3K 33.33% -£1.25 K Burke 1 1 £8K 100% £40.00 H Fry 1 1 £3K 100% £5.00 Jamie Snowden 1 1 £9K 100% £9.00 Harry Derham 1 1 £3K 100% £1.75 Dan Skelton 6 0 £ 0% -£7.00 Trainer Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L A M Balding 402 64 £548K 15.92% -£137.76 C Appleby 126 53 £459K 42.06% -£12.09 J & T Gosden 209 45 £419K 21.53% -£36.37 R Hughes 197 35 £178K 17.77% -£24.13 J R Fanshawe 205 34 £266K 16.59% -£27.37 R M Beckett 195 33 £273K 16.92% -£54.68 J Butler 268 32 £150K 11.94% -£72.42 R Varian 157 29 £141K 18.47% -£60.60 W J Haggas 154 28 £181K 18.18% -£31.77 G Boughey 152 25 £152K 16.45% -£50.93 -
Jockey Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L Ben Jones 21 9 £335K 42.86% £21.79 G Sheehan 16 7 £193K 43.75% £20.50 Brendan Powell 24 5 £56K 20.83% £1.75 N de Boinville 32 5 £91K 15.63% -£15.18 Thomas Bellamy 23 5 £80K 21.74% -£6.22 Tom Cannon 20 5 £110K 25% £2.98 Harry Cobden 41 4 £152K 9.76% -£10.13 Stan Sheppard 10 4 £78K 40% £8.96 S Bowen 18 3 £32K 16.67% -£6.00 J M Quinlan 6 3 £107K 50% £21.50 Jockey Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L N de Boinville 33 13 £302K 39.39% -£4.03 Harry Cobden 54 8 £170K 14.81% -£36.53 Paul O'Brien 28 6 £91K 21.43% -£9.33 J J Burke 30 5 £63K 16.67% -£16.01 Harry Skelton 29 5 £70K 17.24% -£11.52 James Bowen 22 4 £71K 18.18% £10.55 S Bowen 17 4 £31K 23.53% -£2.55 Ben Jones 24 4 £77K 16.67% £11.50 David Bass 8 4 £20K 50% £14.20 Thomas Bellamy 30 3 £18K 10% -£21.21 Jockey Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L Rex Dingle 4 2 £5K 50% £9.00 G Sheehan 3 2 £17K 66.67% £48.00 Ben Jones 5 1 £9K 20% -£2.25 N de Boinville 4 1 £3K 25% -£2.50 Freddie Gordon 3 1 £3K 33.33% £1.50 J J Burke 3 1 £3K 33.33% -£0.25 Bryan Carver 2 1 £3K 50% £4.00 Tom Cannon 2 1 £3K 50% £9.00 Mr F Maguire 1 1 £3K 100% £2.75 Harry Skelton 5 0 £ 0% -£6.00 Jockey Runners Wins Prize Money Strike-Rate P/L Oisin Murphy 436 92 £716K 21.1% -£123.26 Billy Loughnane 403 65 £354K 16.13% -£71.77 Rossa Ryan 352 56 £356K 15.91% -£78.71 W Buick 129 52 £519K 40.31% -£3.11 Daniel Muscutt 357 49 £310K 13.73% -£90.99 H Crouch 236 41 £315K 17.37% -£30.94 K Shoemark 253 38 £223K 15.02% £75.27 Tom Marquand 197 36 £265K 18.27% £6.77 J Mitchell 264 33 £169K 12.5% -£76.47 L Morris 411 29 £154K 7.06% -£226.25
Future Fixtures
Address & Contact
Kempton Park
Staines Road East
Sunbury on Thames
Middlesex
TW16 5AQ
01932 782292
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