flat pattern & listed book_44755_cover 14/02/2018 15:37 Page 1 BritishBritish FlatFlat PatternPattern BritishBritish FlatFlat PatternPattern andand ListedListed RacesRaces 2018 2016 andand ListedListed RacesRacesRaces2 20182016016 BRITISH FL BRITISH FL BRITISH FL AT AT AT P P P AT AT AT TERN AND LISTED RACES 2018 TERN AND LISTED RACES TERN AND LISTED RACES 2018 TERN AND LISTED RACES TERN AND LISTED RACES 2016 TERN AND LISTED RACES • Details of all British Flat Pattern and Listed Races. • Clear indexing by race type and distance. • Racecourse maps and contacts. • Rules applying to the Flat Pattern. • Historical ratings applying to races. British Horseracing Authority published by 75 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6LS £6.60 Tel: 020 7152 0000 E-mail: [email protected] flat pattern &listed book_44755_cover 14/02/2018 15:37 Page 2 The Roll of Honour The Tr ainers who trained the winners of seven or more British Flat Pattern and Listed races in 2017are: Trainer No. of winners WHATGOES INTO APO'Brien 31 ATHOROUGHBRED John Gosden29 MAKES THE Richard Hannon17 Sir Michael Stoute16 RACEHORSE Charlie Appleby 13 IN 2017, 93 GROUP AND GRADE 1WINNERS William Haggas 13 WERE FED ON CONNOLLY’S RED MILLS AndrewBalding 11 Our UK team of thoroughbred experts and nutritionists Mark Johnston 11 work as part of your team to help your horses reach Roger Varian 9 peak performance. Together -wemakeityour success. Clive Cox 8 FEED YOUR DESIRE TO WIN Richard Fahey 8 Charles Hills 7 Hugo Palmer 7 Connolly’sRED MILLS, Woodland Granaries, Narrow Lane, Wymeswold, Loughborough LE12 6SD Tel: +44 1386 552066 Email: [email protected] British Flat Pattern and Listed Races 2018 CONTENTS Introduction by Adrian Grazebrook ....................................... 3 Index to Pattern and Listed Races by Age and Group .................... 5 Index to Pattern and Listed Races under distances ..................... 11 Chronological List of Pattern and Listed Races ......................... 18 List of Pattern Races in closing date order ............................. 23 Index to Races by Racecourses ......................................... 27 Pattern and Listed Races ............................................... 29 Racecourse Maps and Details ......................................... 177 Weight-for-age scale .................................................. 192 Ground Rules for Flat Pattern .......................................... 195 Review of 2017 Pattern and Listed Races ............................. 201 Front Cover: Enable Back Cover: Cracksman Front and back cover photograph by Dan Abraham 1 The Flat Pattern and Listed Race Book is an official publication of the British Horseracing Authority Limited. Registered Office: 75 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6LS. Registered Number 2813358 England. Telephone 020 7152 0000 Fax: 020 7152 0001. Email: [email protected] PUBLISHED BY THE BRITISH HORSERACING AUTHORITY # BRITISH HORSERACING AUTHORITY LTD., 2018 All rights reserved. No part of this material may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording or re-publication without the written permission of the British Horseracing Authority to whom such application for permission should be addressed. Such written permission must also be obtained if any part hereof is stored on a retrieval system of any nature. The conditions of races appearing in this book are subject to alteration before closing. The final conditions will appear in the relevant Racing Calendar in advance of the closing date. PRINTED IN ENGLAND BY WEATHERBYS 2 INTRODUCTION For the second time, Arrogate has been ranked the Longines World’s Best Racehorse of the year, with a rating of 134, only the second occasion that the double has been achieved since the Longines’ sponsored rankings were created (the first was Frankel). Effectively Arrogate had a purple patch, which lasted for some five months, straddling the New Year. This outcome has caused controversy, due to the defeats suffered by Arrogate since the spring. However those who complain have missed the point. This accolade is awarded on the basis of the best single performance of the year. Whether that is the fairest way to establish a "best racehorse", or whether the title is a misnomer are different questions. The panel of handicappers were in no doubt that Arrogate achieved that level in Dubai; indeed he achieved a rating of 131 in his previous appearance. However, only 2lb behind Arrogate in the rankings came the Australian mare Winx so, in an impossible, mythical race between the two of them at their best, in ideal conditions for both, Winx would have received the customary 3lb female’s allowance, and would have come out on top. How does this reflect on racing in Europe, and particularly Great Britain? Pretty well; four of the top nine horses in the rankings were trained in Britain, and indeed the three highest rated three-year-olds in the world, in Cracksman, Enable and Harry Angel, the first two also bred in Britain. While Cracksman was rated, on his best performance, 2lb higher than Enable, nonetheless in the event of a (much less unlikely) match between them, the fillies’ allowance would place Enable ahead. A debate to warm up the winter! By the same measure, and taking the conventional first four finishers as the yardstick, the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe was the highest rated race in the world, while four of the top nine took place in GB (and sixteen in the top 50, the most of any nation). Eight of the nine highest rated races worldwide were over 10 or 12 furlongs. So, at the top level, the European Pattern seems to be doing all right, but what is the overall picture? The emphasis here has been on the determination to continue the development of the black type programme for stayers, still a work in progress, and to tidy up gaps in the fillies’ programme. On the stayers’ side, the Lillie Langtry (Goodwood)) becomes Group 2, and the March (Goodwood) and the Silver Cup (York) go to Group 3, the latter now for 4yo+ only. There is also a new Group 3 at York in May for 4yo+ fillies, the Bronte¨ Cup (and an additional Group 3 each in France and Ireland). For the fillies, there are the Lillie Langtry and Bronte¨ Cup, as above, and also a new 7f Listed race, programmed in June at Chelmsford City. Other upgrades in Great Britain take the Huxley (Chester) to Group 2, the Hoppings (Newcastle) to Group 3, and promote the Epsom Derby Trial (retitled the Blue Riband Trial) to Listed status. For many years, Britain has been the only European racing nation to programme Listed Handicaps, which have long been regarded by the European Pattern Committee as an anomaly, a contradiction of the aim to give black type recognition to only the best. So, after much debate, more about the detail than the principle, four of our five Listed Handicaps, as such, have disappeared. The Chester Stakes and the Wolferton (Ascot) become conventional Listed races, while the Hambleton (York) and Sandringham (Ascot) retain their handicap status, but at Class 2, and will not confer black type. The one exception is the Free Handicap (Newmarket), which survives unchanged, partly because of its long history, but chiefly because the conditions of the race already prohibit participation by any horse rated under 100, the threshold parameter for Listed status. Further afield, in Ireland the Flying Five is promoted to Group 1 and the Golden Fleece to Group 2, while in France the Calvados goes to Group 2, and there are a few further upgrades down the chain. 3 "What about Pattern inflation?" some will say. Well, in addition to those two Listed handicaps, there have been two Group 3 races demoted and five Listed contests removed from the European programme this year, though none of them in Britain. Strikingly, as the more stringent EPC Ground Rules begin to bite on three year averages, no fewer than 24 Pattern and Listed races now find themselves on the "at risk" register, requiring improved performance to retain their status; again none of them in Britain. Accordingly the Pattern appears to be working well on these shores, and racecourses continue to compete for black type opportunities when they arise, and often manage to offer a prize fund well in excess of the minimum. Indeed the prize fund offer is one (though only one) of the factors considered by the Committee when assessing bids for a new race. However, minimum values for British black type races again remain unchanged in 2018, as follows: Group 1 (3yo+) £200,000 (2yo) £150,000 Group 2 (3yo+) £90,000 (2yo) £65,000 Group 3 (3yo+) £60,000 (2yo) £40,000 Listed (3yo+) £37,000 (2yo) £25,000 Adrian Grazebrook Chairman, BHA Flat Pattern Committee 4 INDEX TO FLAT PATTERN AND LISTED RACES BY AGE AND GROUP Abbreviations after race names are as follows:- (H.) - Handicap, (C) - Colts, (F) - Fillies, (G) - Geldings, (E.B.F.) - Race restricted to European Breeders Fund Qualified progeny. Races run on the All Weather Track are shown in bold TWO YEAR OLD Group 1 DATE MEETING RACE DIST. AGE PAGE Sept. 29 NEWMARKET JUDDMONTE MIDDLE PARK (P1.C.) 6F 2C 152 " 29 NEWMARKET JUDDMONTE CHEVELEY PARK (P1.F.) 6F 2F 153 Oct. 12 NEWMARKET BET365 FILLIES’ MILE (P1.F.) 8F 2F 158 " 13 NEWMARKET DARLEY DEWHURST (P1.C.F.) 7F 2CF 160 " 27 DONCASTER RACING POST TROPHY (P1.C.F.) 8F 2CF 167 TWO YEAR OLD Group 2 DATE MEETING RACE DIST. AGE PAGE June 19 ASCOT COVENTRY (P2.) 6F 2 78 " 20 ASCOT QUEEN MARY (P2.F.) 5F 2F 80 " 21 ASCOT NORFOLK (P2.) 5F 2 83 July 12 NEWMARKET ARQANA JULY (P2.C.G.) 6F 2CG 97 " 13 NEWMARKET BET365 DUCHESS OF CAMBRIDGE (P2.F.) 6F 2F 99 " 14 NEWMARKET BET365 SUPERLATIVE (P2.) 7F 2 101 " 31 GOODWOOD QATAR VINTAGE (P2.) 7F 2 110 Aug. 2 GOODWOOD QATAR RICHMOND (P2.C.G.) 6F 2CG 112 " 23 YORK SKY BET LOWTHER (P2.F.) 6F 2F 124 " 24 YORK AL BASTI EQUIWORLD GIMCRACK (P2.C.G.) 6F 2CG 126 Sept.