 Tim Carroll 's Bio | |
|---|---|
| Tim started off as a jockey in Australia before pursuing a media career. He is a highly experienced and respected racing presenter who has been based in England since 2005. Tim has travelled the world covering many of the major meetings, including Royal Ascot, The Epsom Derby, The International meeting from Sha Tin, The Dubai World Cup, The Everest, The Saudi Cup and The Breeders. He is currently a presenter for Sky Sports Racing, specialising in both the local and international scene. Tim is a regular contributor to the At The Races Website where his twice weekly tipping column on Hong Kong racing has gathered a strong following. | |
York Racecourse – Track Analysis (International Stakes Day):
York Racecourse, always racing left-handed or anti-clockwise, was once a “course” that, likewise to Epsom or the Curragh, featuring a run-off area in the end, could card races at only up to 2800m. That took a twist in 2005 when, to temporarily host the Royal Ascot meeting during Ascot’s massive face-lift, the clubhouse turn was extended all the way to connect the backstretch, thus finally made it a full “circuit” out of this venue.
York is a high quality large course with sweeping turns and no undulations. Considered one of the fairest tracks in Great Britain, the straight is approximately 900m and although the layout of the course suits strong galloping types, horses who get to the front early in the straight often will not run down, especially on testing ground.
There are seven races for coverage on International Stakes Day. The three races on the straight course are the 1081m 3yo+ 0-105 Handicap, the 1000m 3yo+ Fillies & Mares 81-100 Handicap, and the 1200m 2yo Handicap. Over 1000m and 1081m it is considered that there is little draw bias, although they do often look to go to the centre of the track. Over 1200m they also do tend to mostly come down the centre of the track, but will normally look to head to the grandstand rail when the ground is soft, thus high draws are favourable on rain affected ground in larger fields.
The four races on the round course are the 3251m 3yo+ 0-105 Handicap, the 1400m G3 Acomb Stakes, the 2371m G2 Great Voltigeur Stakes, and the 2051m G1 International Stakes. Runners will start from a chute that joins the main straight in a dog leg shape over 1400m. This trip is quite rare at York. Results show a fairly even spread with high, middle and low draws winning, however speed horses are suited by a low draw due to the part bend. In fact, the Acomb Stakes is a race that has seen several winners purchased by Hong Kong connections in recent times. Over 2051m, 2371m, and 3251m there is no draw bias, but keep in mind they do tend to head to the middle and sometimes the grandstand rail when they come into the straight.
The International Stakes start is on the far side of the course and although there is a slight bend not long after leaving the gates, barriers are of little importance. In recent times the fields have been small with only one renewal having more than nine runners in the last ten years, and an average field size of 7.4 in that time. However, it is usually a high quality contest and recent winners include the famous champions SEA THE STARS and FRANKEL. The last ten renewals have been run on Good ground and eight of the last ten winners have either headed to the centre of the track or to the grandstand rail.
Last year’s International Stakes was run on Good ground with a field of five going to post. The favourite, GHAIYYATH, went to the front and raced freely. ROSE OF KILDARE sat in behind the leader with the other three runners, MAGICAL, LORD NORTH and KAMEKO in behind. At the top of the straight, ROSE OF KILDARE came under pressure, whilst GHAIYYATH headed to the centre of the track with the others on his inside. Despite racing keenly, GHAIYYATH kicked strongly and went on to win comfortably by 3 lengths, with MAGICAL finishing second, in a time that was 0.92 seconds faster than standard.
The weather forecast sees a chance of some rain on the weekend before York gets underway. However, during the week of the Ebor festival there is no rain forecast with most days expected to be sunny, and if that is correct then we can once again expect the ground to have Good in the description.
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