Horse racing analysis: Haydock course guide and key statistics
With the Sky Bet Sunday Series beginning at the end of the month we're building up to the new initiative with a guide to the courses involved - continuing with Haydock.
When is the Sky Bet Sunday Series?
- Musselburgh July 25 - 3.45-7.00 on ITV4 and Racing TV
- Haydock August 8 - 3.45-7.00 on ITV4 and Racing TV
- Sandown August 22 - 3.45-7.15 on ITV4 and Racing TV
- Click here for more details
- Click here to read our Musselburgh course guide
Timeform's Haydock course guide
Left handed, flat. Oval-shaped, about thirteen furlongs round, with a run-in of four and a half furlongs which rises slightly throughout. Runners in races of seven furlongs and further tend to stick towards the far rail in the straight, though often switch nearer the stand side when the ground is testing. Sprints take place on the straight six-furlong course, with runners usually racing down the centre of the track.
Leading active jockeys at Haydock
Sorted by strike rate in the last five years (minimum 50 rides)
- Pat Cosgrave 27.42% (17-62)
- William Buick 21.59% (19-88)
- James Doyle 21.37% (28-131)
- Jim Crowley 20.95% (22-105)
- Adam Kirby 20.37% (11-54)
Other points to consider
- Richard Kingscote has ridden 74 winners at Haydock since the start of the 2016 season, a tally which is more than double that of his closest pursuer, Danny Tudhope (35). He has also had the most rides (431) and his winners have yielded a profit of £26.45 to a £1 level stake.
- Of those with at least 50 rides at Haydock, David Probert has been by far the most profitable jockey to follow at the course in the past five seasons. His nine winners (from 91 rides) have returned a profit of £74.75 to a £1 level stake. By way of comparison, Jane Elliott is next best with a return of £27.00.
Leading active trainers at Haydock
Sorted by strike rate in the last five years (minimum 50 runners)
- Hugo Palmer 26.98% (17-63)
- William Haggas 26.78% (49-183)
- Michael Bell 23.64% (13-55)
- John Quinn 23.08% (15-65)
- Charlie Appleby 21.67% (13-60)
Other points to consider
- Since the start of the 2016 season, William Haggas is the leading trainer at Haydock by run-to-form percentage (must have had at least 50 runners to qualify). An impressive 65.03% of his horses have run to form, giving him a clear edge over Hugo Palmer (61.90%) and Roger Charlton (60.00%) by this metric.
- Tom Dascombe has trained more winners at Haydock in the past five seasons than anyone else. He has saddled 71 winners from 430 runners, yielding a strike rate of 16.51% and a profit of £189.54 to a £1 level stake. Richard Kingscote is number one jockey to the Dascombe yard and the pair have teamed up for 50 winners at Haydock during this period.
- Newmarket-based Tom Clover is a trainer who has enjoyed plenty of success at Haydock from a smaller representation. He has saddled five winners (from 12 runners) at a strike rate of 41.67%, earning his followers a profit of £67.33 to a £1 level stake.
Leading sires at Haydock
Sorted by strike rate in the last five years (minimum 30 runners)
- Frankel 32.47% (25-77)
- Choisir 30.30% (10-33)
- Kingman 21.62% (8-37)
- Dubawi 21.43% (24-112)
- Rock of Gibraltar 20.69% (12-58)
Running style
Despite a long straight at Haydock which gives patiently-ridden horses more time to manoeuvre for position, it remains a significant advantage to race handily.
On the round course – races at seven furlongs or further – front-runners have a strike rate of 18.26%. Those who race prominently, just behind the leaders, also fare well at Haydock, operating at a 12.65% strike rate, but there is a steady decline in performance for those ridden with more restraint. Horses who race in mid-field have a strike rate of 11.07%, while runners held up towards the rear (9.99%) or last of all (8.14%) have fared worse still.
However, like at most courses in Britain, it’s worth pointing out that the state of the going can have a significant impact on what is the most effective running style. For example, front-runners on the round course at Haydock have a strike rate of 23.19% on going described by Timeform as ‘good to firm’, but this strike rate drops to just 11.11% on ‘good to soft’.
Best performances
Haydock plays host to a trio of high-class sprint contests during the season, namely the Temple Stakes and Sandy Lane Stakes, both Group 2 events held in late-May, and the Group 1 Sprint Cup staged in September. The brilliant Battaash produced the best performance at Haydock in recent years when winning the 2019 edition of the Temple, earning a Timeform rating of 132 for his impressive two-and-a-half-length victory.
Harry Angel is another star sprinter to have strutted his stuff at Haydock in recent seasons, running to a high level when winning both the Sandy Lane (129) and Sprint Cup (131) in 2017, while Lord North put up the best effort on the round course in recent seasons. He achieved a Timeform rating of 124 when winning last year’s Brigadier Gerard Stakes, a Group 3 which was relocated from Sandown due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Champion Jockey Oisin Murphy says:
"Now we’re in July we’re building up to a new initiative, with the Sky Bet Sunday Series taking place across three Sundays at the end of July and into August.
"I think we learnt last year that Sunday racing can be a big hit in this country and it should attract a different audience both at the tracks and on the TV.
"With attractive prize money and bonuses – I’ve got half an eye on that £100,000 being dangled for any jockey that rides seven winners across the three meetings – there’s plenty to like!
"And I love the idea of showcasing different aspects of the sport amongst the coverage, particularly the pony racing which is such a good breeding ground for young jockeys these days."
Click here to read our Musselburgh course guide
