The Racing Horse offers our NEWBURY Racecourse Template for Friday 18 September 2026. This template is kindly sponsored by the ALLTWEN RUGBY CLUB & The DILLWYN INN, Pontardawe. There is an 8-race card containing a Listed Race, 2 Conditions Stakes, 4 Handicaps, and a Maiden race. The going is expected to be good. First draft, final edit 4pm...

WINNING FAVOURITES (5 years)
Non-handicap                    Handicap
2yo   52-168	31%   -48.32	6-20	  30%	  -2.38
3yo   33-87	38%   -14.65	49-154	  32%	 -22.57
4yo+  12-39	31%    -6.96	36-155	  23%	 -46.96
TOTAL 97-294	33%   -69.93	91-329	  28%	 -71.90

TOP 5 TRAINERS at NEWBURY AW 5 years            +/-   R
Richard Hannon (11%) 47-453    10%    +51.91    -1%   6
William Haggas (22%) 45-209    22%     -3.56    +0%   3
Andrew Balding (16%) 36-253    14%    -26.82    -2%   4   
Ralph Beckett (18%)  27-185    15%     -1.65    -3%   2
J & T Gosden (22%)   22-143    15%    -47.03    -7%   3

TOP 5 JOCKEYS at NEWBURY AW 5 years             +/-   R
Tom Marquand (15%)   52-290    18%    +14.44    +3%   0
William Buick (24%)  43-218    20%    -14.22    -4%   5
Oisin Murphy (21%)   39-198    20%     +6.16    -1%   5
Rossa Ryan (17%)     25-208    12%    +22.85    -5%   5
Hector Crouch (17%)  23-144    16%    +24.36    -1%   5

TOP 5 OWNERS at NEWBURY AW 5 years              +/-   E
Godolphin (28%)	     24-110    22%     -9.42    -6%   6
Juddmonte (23%)	     15-69     22%    -16.61    -1%   1
Shadwell Est (23%)   13-84     15%     +5.47    -8%   2
Mrs Fitri Hay (13%)  12-67     18%    -12.45    +5%   0
A Al Maktoum (21%)   11-52     21%     +1.20    +0%   1

FIXTURES:
Friday 18 September 2026
Saturday 19 September 2026

WHAT are RACECOURSE TEMPLATES?

UNDERSTANDING NATIONAL AVERAGES

CONFIGURATION: Left handed, galloping. The straight mile course is undulating throughout. One of the fairest courses in the country, though its galloping nature makes it ideal for the big, long-striding type, and the track becomes testing in inclement weather. Whilst the majority of the action on the straight course usually takes place on the stand rail, those who choose to come down the centre of the track instead can find themselves at an advantage.

Newbury rarely produces fluke results and is trusted for debuting expensive, inexperienced horses. With minor undulations, no sharp or unbalancing turns it makes Newbury one of the fairest tests of a horse’s ability in Britain. 

THE DRAW: There aren’t many fairer courses than Newbury, which is big and galloping, but, probably due to the woodland on the far side, it can sometimes ride a good bit softer down the back straight than it does in the home straight. There’s very little draw bias on the straight track and there’s no wonder so many trainers want to send their classy horses there. The one tricky start is the one up in the spur (the round 1m) and that can prove draw-dependent. Otherwise, you get very few hard-luck stories at Newbury - Jason Weaver

FAVOURITES: Newbury may be a fair track, but it is far from friendly to winning favourites. Over the past five years, favourites have returned 188-523 for 30.18% which is almost 3% below the national average. The underperformance is even more pronounced in Maiden and Novice races: where one might reasonably expect favourite strike‑rates approaching 40% or more, Newbury delivers only 33%, a significant shortfall for categories that are usually more reliable. Note, that 4yos and older only win 23% of winning favourites win in handicaps.

TRAINERS: The top 5 trainers at the course have 18 runners between them and we can expect them to register multiple winners

JOCKEYS: Four of our top five jockeys have 5 rides each. Those ridden for the top 5 trainers should be processed especially. Of the 8 races on the card, we can expect William Buick (24%), Oisin Murphy (21%), Rossa Ryan (17%) and Hector Crouch (17%) to ride at least 4 of the winners if not more!

Tom Marquand is at Ayr on Friday and Saturday and probably for BINHAREER for the Ayr Gold Cup on Saturday.

OWNERS: Once again, Godolphin (28%) are top owners at this course but strike -6% below their national average. They have 6 runners and look certain to score at least one winner from MISS MINIVER (Roger Varian & Ray Dawson) & SORRENGAIL 2.22 (Charlie Appleby & William Buick), BIN JAHWAR 3.32 (Charlie Appleby & William Buick), CATULLUS (Charlie Appleby & William Buick) & SPY CHIEF (J & T Gosden & Ryan Moore) 4.07 and INTERSTATE 5.50 (J & T Gosden & William Buick). Stop at a winner?

COLD LIST: There are a few trainers on the cold list and they are worth bringing to your attention. They include trainer David Menuisier (11%) who is now 0-67 over a period of 78 days. His sole runner is DARK WHISPER 5.50 to be ridden by Oisin Murphy. Gary and Josh Moore (10%) are 0-29 over 16 days and they run STARLETTE SKY 1.47 & AUTUMN'S BREEZE 4.40. Ed Walker (14%) is 0-23 over 8 days and runs 8 including HALLOWEEN JACK & SOLO QUEST 1.47, ISABELLA DE VEGA 2.57, NORTHERN CHAMPION 4.07, MISS TONNERRE & COUNTER INTUITIVE 4.40, ACCADEMIA 5.15 and EMPIRICAL 5.50.

These 3 trainers are now 0-119 and from here we will process their runners, knowing this losing aggregate will end sooner rather than later! And of course, once they score once they are likely to bang in a few.

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