Taunton Race Course

In last month’s OCP magazine I looked at Wincanton one of the five National Hunt racecourses located in the south west of England. This month I am moving west across the county of Somerset to look at Taunton race course.

As before I will look briefly at the track’s location, history, configuration and a couple of big races run at the track. I will also highlight some significant winning stats at the course.

History and Location

Taunton is about 30 miles west of Wincanton as the crow flies. Located in the heart of the Somerset’s cider making country. The racecourse isn’t actually in the town of Taunton but is situated about two miles away in the small village of Orchard Portman.

The train station is just two miles away from the railway station at Taunton and offers train services to London, Bristol, and Birmingham & the North. Fortunately, the course provides a courtesy bus service from the railway station on race days. For those coming by car, the racecourse is just a short drive from the M5.

Unlike its Somerset neighbour, the racecourse can’t claim 150 years of continuous racing heritage. In fact, the track is one of the newest in the country having first opened its door as late as 1927.
Racing did take place in Taunton up till the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century but all its fixtures were moved to the nearby Bridgwater racecourse which held on and off some National Hunt racing until the opening of the new Taunton track.

Given its relative size, the track boasts some excellent facilities with two stands to view the racing as well as bars and restaurants.

The course holds jumps meetings from October through to the end of April. The first meeting of the 2018 & 2019 National Hunt season was due to be held on the 31st of October unfortunately that didn't go ahead.

It’s fair to say the course has a homely county feel. The track, unlike Wincanton, may not host any notable races during the season or see many top-class horses in action. But it’s well loved by the locals and its small band of regular racegoers.

Track Configuration

Taunton is a tight oval speed favouring circuit of about mile & quarter. There are two long straights which suit galloping types but there are also two tight bends which favour horses who have the nimbleness to handle them at speed.

The track was built on Somerset red clay soil and for many years it was prone to very heavy going in the winter months. Since the building of the nearby motorway and more recent drainage improvements the course no longer retains water like it did in the past. Indeed, now the going is less extreme than at other racecourses during the winter months.

The Taunton fences are not big or stiff but the downhill run to the third last on the chase course and the close proximity of the fences in the home straight mean that decent jumping is a requirement particularly of a novice chaser.

Despite being a sharp track there’s a slight uphill run to the finish which can catch out a tired horse after the last.

Big Races

In 2018 the first meeting of the autumn due to be held at Halloween had to be cancelled due to the firm ground due to the long dry spell in the area.

Racing id go ahead on  Thursday 15th November on Good to Firm. There will now be thirteen race days at the course in 2018-19 National Hunt season.

The most valuable race at the course during the season is a 2m Class 2 handicap hurdle that is usually held in mid-February.

Last season the Peterborough Chase, normally run at Huntingdon, was run at the track due to the abandonment of the Huntingdon meeting due to bad weather.

Taunton Stats

Let’s begin by looking at some general stats including favourite stats at the course since 2014.

The stats below are from Jan 1st, 2014 to the time of writing (10/11/18) and cover all jumps meetings at the course. Once again, I am using the ever useful www.horseracebase.com for the stats.

The results below contain 449 winners from 4027 runners.

General Stats

• Top 3 in the betting provided 74% winners from 35% of the total runners.

• Top four last time out provided 59% winners from 38% of the total runners.

• Previous course winners provided 17% winners from 10% of the total runners.

Fate of Favourites

Now let’s look at the fate of the favourites.

On average favourites, including Joint & Co favs, win about 35% of all National Hunt races. How have favourites fared at Taunton in the period under research?

All Favourites have produced – 176 winners from 476 runners 37% -18.91 A/E 0.99

Breaking those results down into no-handicap and handicaps and looking at last time out placings:

• Non -Handicaps – 78 winners from 152 runners 51% +1.47 A/E 1.03 122 placed 80%.
• Handicaps – 98 winners from 324 runners 30% -20.38 196 placed 60%.

• Favourites that won their last race have produced – 51 winners from 120 runners 43% +7.29 A/E 1.06 88 placed 73%.

• Favourites that had finished outside the top four on their last start produced – 46 winners from 130 runners 35% -5.08 A/E 1.02 87 placed 67%.

Jockeys & Favourites

If you’re a favourite backer. Then the best jockeys when the money is down are:

Noel Fehily – 10 winners from 17 runners 59% +9.83 A/E 1.47 12 placed 71%.

Nick Schofield -9 winners from 16 runners 56% +8.83 A/E 1.46 14 placed 88%.

Daryl Jacob – 6 winners from 9 runners 67% +4.87 A/E 1.53 9 placed 100%.

Trainers Favourites

Harry Fry – 12 winners from 24 runners 50% +0.03 A/E 1.12 17 placed 71%.

Anthony Honeyball – 6 winners from 11 runners 55% +7.09 A/E 1.69 9 placed 82%.

Evan Williams – 6 winners from 12 runners 50% + 2.59 A/E 1.33 9 placed 75%.

Trainer Stats and Angles

Here are a few interesting trainer track stats. That will hopefully enable you to identify some winners at Taunton this season.

The top trainer at the track numerically, like at Wincanton, is Paul Nicholls – 54 winners from 181 runners 30% -15.54 A/E 0.97 110 placed 61%

Paul Nicholls has had 26 more winners than his nearest rival Harry Fry.

Trainer: Paul Nicholls
Race Type: Non-handicap Hurdle
Career Runs: 1+

26 winners from 57 runners +6.18 A/E 1.17 47 placed 82% (Each way +20.7).

Interestingly you could have backed all the Nicholls qualifiers each way and made a nice profit in the period under research!

Trainer Angles

Anthony Honeyball’s runners need respecting here – 10 winners from 57 runners 18% +12.09 A/E 1.29 22 placed 36%. It may pay to focus on his handicap hurdlers – 8 winners from 23 runners 35% +39.71 A/E 1.87 15 placed 65% (each way +57.50).

For those who like to follow trainer & jockey combinations, you could worse than focus on trainer Jeremy Scott & jockey Matt Griffiths who have teamed up for 7 winners from 18 runners 39% +19.13 A/E 2.69 11 placed 61% (each way +30.99) in handicaps races.

Hopefully, you enjoyed this brief look at Taunton racecourse and some of the track’s key stats.

Next month, I will head deeper into the south west of England and take a look at Exeter racecourse.

Until next time.

John Burke

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