How Fontwell Tips Work on The Tipster League
Every tipster on The Tipster League is ranked by all-time results across all UK and Irish racecourses in our best horse racing tipsters league table. For each race on the Fontwell card, the tip shown comes from the highest-ranked tipster who has tipped in that race. Tips can update through the morning as more selections come in, but all selections are locked in at 12:00 BST.
What sets The Tipster League apart is that every selection is recorded on each tipster’s public profile — wins, losses, and everything in between. The “Top Tipsters at Fontwell” section on this page breaks that down further, showing how each tipster has performed at this course specifically.
A strong ranking reflects past results, not future outcomes, so always do your own research before placing a bet.
Fontwell Park Racecourse
Fontwell Park sits at the junction of the A27 and A29 near Arundel in West Sussex. It is a National Hunt course — jumps racing only, on turf, with no flat or all-weather fixture. The nearest railway station is Barnham, two miles away on the Brighton to Portsmouth line, with a shuttle bus running on race days.
Racing began here on 21 May 1924, when local trainer Alfred Day opened the course on land he had purchased near his training base at The Hermitage. The original grandstand and weighing room had thatched roofs. The limited space meant the hurdle track was laid out as a conventional left-handed oval of approximately one mile, but the steeplechase course had to be built in a figure-of-eight to fit enough fences into the available ground. That figure-of-eight remains the only one of its kind in British jump racing. The first race was won by Gem, ridden by Fred Rees and returned the 5/4 favourite.
The chase course has six fences per circuit, positioned in the two straight sections where the figure-of-eight crosses. The hurdle course has four flights per circuit. Both courses share a run-in of approximately 230 yards with a testing uphill finish. The course was sold to Northern Racing in 2002 and is now part of Arena Racing Company, which invested £6.5 million in a new Premier Grandstand opened in August 2010. Fontwell stages over 20 jumps meetings throughout the year, including popular fixtures such as the Oktoberfest in October, Ladies Evening in August, and the Boxing Day card. For fixture dates and visitor information, see the Fontwell Park official website.
Princess Elizabeth, as she was then, had her first winner as an owner when Monaveen won the Chichester Handicap Chase in October 1949 — a victory commemorated by a topiary statue in the course’s gardens. John Francome broke Stan Mellor’s all-time National Hunt winners record when he rode his 1,036th winner, Don’t Touch, at Fontwell in 1984. The Dick Francis thriller Dead Cert was filmed at the course in 1973. Fontwell has also been a breeding ground for specialists: Certain Justice won 14 times at Fontwell between 1959 and 1966, and St Athans Lad won 11 races here in just 14 months during 1992 and 1993.
Key Races at Fontwell Park
The National Spirit Hurdle is Fontwell’s feature race — a Grade 2 contest over two miles three furlongs, run in February. The race is named after the dual Champion Hurdler who won in 1947 and 1948 and was a five-time winner at the course. It was first run in 1965 and quickly established itself as a trial for the championship races at the Cheltenham Festival. The race was removed from the calendar in 1994 and revived as a handicap hurdle two years later before reverting to a conditions race in 1999. It now serves as one of the principal trials for the Stayers’ Hurdle. Notable winners include Comedy of Errors, Beech Road — who won this race and the Champion Hurdle in the same season — and Baracouda, who took the National Spirit in 2001 during a ten-race unbeaten run.
The Southern National is Fontwell’s feature chase — a Class 3 handicap over three miles three and a half furlongs in November. Run over the figure-of-eight in frequently testing ground, it demands both stamina and accurate jumping from a horse that handles the track’s constant directional changes. Course form is a particularly strong pointer in this race.
What to Look for When Betting at Fontwell
The figure-of-eight chase course makes Fontwell unlike any other jumps track in Britain. Horses change direction repeatedly throughout the race, and the six fences are grouped in the two straight sections where the track crosses itself. Big, long-striding gallopers are often disadvantaged here — they struggle with the tight turns and frequent adjustments. Nimble, accurate jumpers who travel well within themselves and can switch direction without losing momentum are the type to look for over fences. The constant directional changes can also suit horses that lose interest on conventional tracks — the figure-of-eight keeps them engaged and jumping. A horse’s chase form at Fontwell is more track-specific than at almost any other course, and previous winners or placed horses deserve extra attention when they return.
The hurdle course rides differently. It is a conventional left-handed oval, approximately a mile round, and suits front-runners who can dictate the pace on a sharp circuit. The paddock exit is positioned halfway up the hurdles run-in, and tired horses can idle when they pass it on the way to the line. Keen-going types or those ridden prominently tend to be less affected.
The course can ride soft or heavy through the winter months, and on testing going the uphill finish from the last obstacle to the line takes a greater toll. Stamina becomes a bigger factor when the ground is deep, particularly in the longer chase races. On soft or heavy going over hurdles, better ground is often found racing wide.
The National Hunt statistics on this page show the leading jockeys, trainers, and owners at Fontwell — worth checking before studying the card. Fontwell produces course specialists more regularly than most tracks because of its unusual layout, so horses with multiple course wins deserve respect. Our horse racing nap of the day picks show the single most popular selection across all courses each day, while our Goodwood tips page covers the other major West Sussex racecourse.