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.

Epsom Racecourse – Track Analysis (Oaks Day):

Epsom racecourse is unique in nature in that it is not a circuit, but a 2424m horseshoe shaped left handed turning track with a home straight of approximately 700m. All races further than 1415m start in the back straight, and races held over 1210m and 1415m start from chutes which join onto the large home bend on the left hand side of the course. Races over 1000m are run on a straight course from a chute which joins the straight, left to right for the viewer, which is considered to be the quickest 1000m in world racing. The course itself is a quirky layout that initially takes slight right-hander, then climbs right up a protracted steep incline – 45m through the first 1200m, all the way to the top of the Tattenham Hill – before descending towards the notoriously wicked Tattenham Corner, followed by a pronounced camber in the stretch run that drops away severely from the grandstand rail to the far side rail, with the course rising 11m yet again in the final 200m. On soft ground they often head to the grandstand rail upon straightening, in search of drier ground, and this gives an advantage to horses on the front who can make the first move. 

Seven turf races will be simulcast from the Oaks Day this year.

For the 1210m Woodcote Stakes, they jump from a chute that joins the crown of the home bend. They then go around the turn, which is known as Tattenham Corner, before entering the straight for what is a downhill run before going slightly uphill over the closing stages. There is no draw bias as such, but due to the layout, riders can get boxed in from low draws, thus middle draws do tend to give more options.

For both 1415m Surrey Stakes and 3yo+ 81-100 Handicap, they jump from a chute on the top left hand side of the track. Not long after leaving the gates they go downhill whilst turning onto Tattenham Corner and then into the straight. Thus it's a sharp 1415m and horses drawn low, especially in larger fields tend to do well. 

For the 1721m World Pool Handicap, there is no draw bias. They jump from toward the end of the back straight, said loosely given its snake-like shape, and head uphill before coming onto the bend where the track levels out, they then go downhill onto Tattenham Corner, before entering the straight, continuing to head downhill before meeting rising ground toward the finish. 

The 2034m 4yo+ Handicap start has similar characteristics to the 1721m start in that they start from half way up the back straight, head up hill, before meeting level ground as they swing onto the bend, then head downhill, onto Tattenham Corner, into the straight, where they are still going downhill before meeting rising ground over the concluding stages.

The G1 Coronation Cup and the feature race G1 Oaks are both over 2424m. Runners jump from the end of the horseshoe on the top right hand side of the track, and head uphill, turning slightly left not long after leaving the gates, they then head along the back straight, which is all uphill, until they meet the starting point of the bend. The first 1200m of the race sees a steep incline of approximately 45m in total, which levels out before heading downhill around Tattenham Corner. They then enter the straight, which continues downhill, before heading uphill over the concluding stages, and all of this on a straight with a severe camber. Thus why Epsom is considered the ultimate test of a racehorse. Despite all its idiosyncrasies, it's generally a fair course in terms of the draw over 2424m. During the last ten years, the average field size of the Oaks has been 11.4, with the average winning barrier in that time is 6.0 of the last ten winners, seven have been ridden from midfield or held up, whilst three have been on pace runners. Aiden O'Brien (won the Oaks for six times in last decade) and John Gosden (won the Oaks for three times in last decade) have dominated the race in recent times with Ralph Beckett (TALENT, 2013) the only other trainer to enjoy success in the last ten years.

Last year's Oaks was run on Good to Soft ground with a field of 14 going to post. MYSTERY ANGEL soon led. SNOWFALL took up a position in mid division, whilst the favourite, SANTA BARBARA, was waited with at the tail of the field. The order had changed little as they came around Tattenham Corner, but it was evident that the riders all wanted to head to the grandstand side on straightening. MYSTERY ANGEL skipped 3 lengths clear at this point, but SNOWFALL was making ground hand over first, whilst SANTA BARBARA started to pick up strongly from the back, but her run soon petered out. SNOWFALL went straight on by MYSTERY ANGEL approximately 350m out and then proceeded to put daylight between herself and her rivals, recording an incredible 16 length victory, with MYSTERY ANGEL holding on for second and DIVINELY a modest third, in a time that was 6.97 seconds slower than standard.

Of the last ten renewals of the Oaks Day, there has been Good in the description on nine occasions. The only exception being in 2018 when the ground was described as Soft. The weather forecast is for mostly clear days leading up to the meeting, thus if the forecasts are correct, and from a recent historically perspective, it is likely the meeting will be run on ground with Good in description.

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