David Probert on Chelmsford

“A flat 1m oval with even proportions: quarter mile straights and bends. The track has just been
riding a little inconsistently in recent times, and I think they're still using pretty much the same
surface as they were ten years ago. Maybe they've added a bit of wax but not much and it might just
be in need of re-laying. That would likely sort things out.

It's been proving fairly difficult to win from off the pace and the kickback is quite severe. They put
great prize money on and try to do things right, but the inconsistency of the track is a little bit
frustrating. I'm not saying you can't win from off the pace, because you can: if they go very quick you
can weave your way through.
And they normally go a good gallop at Chelmsford - you rarely get a slowly run race round there. If I
had a horse that needed a quick six furlongs or seven furlongs, I'd take them to Chelmsford.

5f
At five furlongs, it's pretty much point and shoot: try to get close to or on the lead in the furlong
before the turn, hold a position through the turn and then kick into the straight. Very few horses
come from the second half of the field over five here.

6f/7f
The same is true up to a point over six and seven, though they can sometimes go too hard and set it
up for a midfield stalker or occasionally a deeper closer. The problem over seven is that you normally
have about 14 runners, so you're likely to get people drawn fourteen down to ten trying to go
forward so you get a right good gallop into that first bend.
Also down the back, just before the 4f pole, there's like a little path which is kind of raised up and
you can sometimes see a horse when it encounters that it will switch leads a couple of times which
makes it quite tricky for a horse sometimes to get balanced around that top bend.
Draw wise, you can get away with being drawn out wide as long as you have tactical, or early, speed.
The only disadvantage is over five because you're almost straight into that turn.
The mile races start in a dogleg chute on the turn after the winning post, and those drawn lowest
can sometimes get squeezed up as the field cuts a tangent onto the arc of the bend on the main
track.
7f+
It's similar to the 7f chute at Wolverhampton: you've got about half a furlong before things open up
as you hit the turn.
At longer distances it's pretty fair, though it can get a bit scrimmage-y going into the first turn at a
mile and a quarter, but other than that it's pretty fair. That said, being in the first half of the field is a
positive at any trip around Chelmsford.
There isn't really any part across the track more favoured than the rest. You will often see jockeys
swinging wide into the home turn but that's more tactical race riding than looking for a quick strip.
You can certainly win up the rail anyway."

David Probert on Kempton

“Generally speaking, it's a straightforward track. But the five furlong and mile and a quarter races
are both run on the tight inside bend, and the impact of the draw is most pronounced there: you
definitely benefit from a low draw and being close to the pace, because you're on the turn a fair bit
and you need to keep your horse balanced before a home straight of less than two furlongs. It's very
difficult to come from off the pace at those two distances.
If you're drawn wide on the inner loop, you need a horse with gate speed in order to get the best
break you possibly can. Obviously in novice or non-handicap races there may be inexperienced or
slow horses inside you, but in handicaps it's difficult to overcome a wide draw. The best bet then is
to try to drop in halfway and hope that they go too quick up front so you can pick them up. It's worth
marking up horses that win or run well from wide draws in handicaps at Kempton.
On the outer loop you can normally ride more of a race: you can be drawn outside, drop in, and it
seems like you can win from off the pace there at the minute. Whether it's because of the lack of
rain and maybe that's making it a little slower, I don't know, but it seems fairer just now. Also on the
outer loop, jockeys tend to stay two or three lanes off the inside rail going past the cutaway because
it seems a bit quicker further out, and horses just seem to finish a bit better there.
One other thing to note, with Kempton being the only right-handed track is that some horses act
better there than at the other all-weather courses most likely due to a preference for racing in that
direction.
The kickback has improved recently. As with all of the all-weather tracks, the more rain we have it
tightens up quite well, but sometimes if they harrow it quite deep it can be fairly gruelling in behind.
Overall though, it's one of the better tracks for the kickback.”

David Probert on Lingfield

“It's probably the most idiosyncratic of the all-weather tracks because of the hill. It's pretty level
from the mile and a quarter start and down the back, but from the four furlong to the two furlong
poles you're running down that hill. Some horses don't handle the hill which makes it a tricky track
to ride; many of the jockeys will start to make their move at about the three - halfway down the hill,
on the home bend - trying to get some of their rivals off balance. That's where you'll see most of the
manoeuvres, jostling for position, trying to either get an inside run or slingshot off the bend if a little
wider.
In five and six furlong handicaps, you want to be handy, and perhaps ideally with a middle draw to
cut the corner a little. That gives you the most options. They're both tricky starts, the five in a little
chute on the crown of the bend, and the six just before the bend on the main track. Inside draws
need to be very quick away and edge right a bit to get a position, because if you don't you'll be in a
pocket and it'll be hard. The 6f trip is a bit more forgiving because you've got half a furlong or so
before the bend, but you still need to jump and get a position quickly.
But over longer trips, certainly beyond a mile, it's very hard to make the running and win. I try and sit
third or fourth, and one off the rail. If you're on the rail you can get boxed in as horses vie for
positions and then you have to wait for them to pass before making your run. It's certainly a tricky
track and one where you need to be in the right place at the right time.

Lane wise, it's pretty fair in the straight: I've seen horses coming up the rail to win, and horses
fanning wide and winning, so there doesn't seem to be any advantage to one or other path in the
last quarter. And the kickback is mild, probably the least of all the all-weather circuits.”
David Probert on Southwell

“Southwell is a unique all-weather track, mainly because of the deep Fibresand surface they have
there. Generally, it pays to be aggressive and go forward from the outset. It's a real ‘horses for
courses’ track, not many horses act around there, and the ones that do seem to do very well.

I tend to think you need a horse with a lot of speed and one capable of winning over a furlong
further than it's racing over. If you want to take your time around Southwell, you're probably better
off conceding a few lengths on the bends and down the back straight to stay out of the kickback,
which is fierce. The wide trip is compensated by the inside generally riding quite slow, so you're not
losing as much ground as logically it might seem like.

The kickback is pretty tough. When I'm riding there I carry a pair of stockings and wear one as a
mask. And three pairs of goggles!

The 5f straight track doesn't seem to have a positional bias left to right. Instead I think if anything it's
a pace bias, but usually it's simply the fittest, quickest horse wins on the day.

I don't think I've ever ridden a horse there which has travelled from the start to the finish. You're
either flat out to get and keep the lead, or you're flat out playing catch up.

I prefer being drawn outside, especially if I have one that needs to take a lead off something. I'd
rather be three or four horses wide than on the rail, and just stay out of the kickback as much as
possible. It's so thick sometimes it's almost like being behind a gritter. Trying to get your horse to
breathe is the main thing. Plenty of them can't handle the kickback and it interferes with the pattern
of their breathing.

At longer trips there's more of an even gallop. Obviously it's hard to maintain a frenetic tempo for a
longer period of time, so races tend to be run a bit more sensibly and with more consistent results.
I've had a bit of luck at Southwell actually, especially at longer trips."

Thank you to Matt Bisogno for permission to use these quotes from geegeez.co.uk

More course details available here – UK Race Courses

David Probert on Wolverhampton

“Wolverhampton is a flat oval, about a mile around, and it's a pretty fair track. It doesn't especially
favour front-runners or hold up horses and there's generally no track bias in terms of the inside rail
or wider. There are some things to think about at different distances, though.
At the minimum, five furlongs, you can go too quick, so it's not just a case of jump, handbrake off
and try to last home; you need to ride a bit more of a race than that. If you don't hold on to
something I don't think you'll get home generally. A low draw is an advantage as there's only a short
run to the first turn and you don't want to get fanned three or four wide there.

There's a longer run to the turn over six, which means you've got more chance to get across from
the wider stalls. The seven is a different game: it starts in a chute on the crown of a bend and, rather
like the mile at Chelmsford, if you're drawn low you're in danger of getting squeezed for room a bit
as the middle to wide drawn horses break across you. You need to be quickly away from an inside
post or you'll normally find yourself in a position from where it's pretty much checkmate. If I'm
drawn outside over seven I like to go forward and sit handy into and through that first turn.
Pace wise, they tend to go pretty hard from the gates over seven in order to grab a position, and
then normally you can get a breather down the back straight, before kicking again from the three or
the two. Races can often be quite stop-start at this distance.
Then there are two distances at around nine furlongs, one just a little bit shorter and one a bit
longer. The shorter trip starts quite close to the stable bend; you need to be quick into the turn to
get a position then, especially if there are a lot of runners. Obviously with the extended nine you've
got a little bit more time to get in if you're drawn wider. Both are pretty fair trips really. One thing to
be aware of, especially with inexperienced horses, is that sometimes they like to have a look at the
stable bend there, so a rider has to be ready for that and get his horse on the right lead, successfully
navigate that turn and then ride a race from there on.

The mile and a half starts quite close to the first turn, so you again can get caught out wide as
everyone shuffles for a position into the bend. It's not until we turn into the home straight for the
first time that everyone finds their own space and gets into a rhythm. Riders will then get a breather
into their horses going into the bottom turn, unless there's loads of pace in the race with horses
taking each other on at the front. Otherwise, from there it's generally fair enough to all.
Plenty of races there seem to have been pretty tactical lately and, when that's the case, the slow
early pace means you ideally want a horse with a bit of a gear change. But it does vary from race to
race. You can get away with making the running round there, and at the same time you can come
from off the pace as well. It's probably the fairest of the all-weather tracks in that regard."