Salisbury Racecourse
Salisbury is a flat racing track situated 3 miles south west of the city in Wiltshire on the A3094. Road users arriving from the north should follow the A360 towards Salisbury and the racecourse is clearly sign posted. Salisbury Railway Station is approximately 3 miles from the track with a frequent bus connection on race days. There are direct trains from London Waterloo to Salisbury.
Salisbury Horse Racing Tips
Salisbury is a right hand track with a long home straight of around seven furlongs. There is a straight mile and the course winds its way gradually uphill to the finish. It suits long striding, galloping horses and attracts many of the top stables to the maiden races. It pays to take the draw into account when considering your tips for Salisbury races today. There is a slight bias towards the low numbers in races over five and six furlongs.
Salisbury Horse Racing History
Racing first took place in Salisbury in the mid-16th century. The City Bowl was first run in 1654 and is one of the oldest named races in the racing calendar. The Bibury Club was created in 1685 and is the oldest racing club in the world. Meetings were originally staged at Bibury and Stockbridge with the Club transferring to Salisbury in 1899. The Bibury Cup Handicap helps to maintain the valued link with Salisbury’s history.
In 1948 Lester Piggott had his first ride in public at Salisbury as an apprentice jockey at the age of twelve. He rode a filly called The Chase, trained by his father. During his long career, Piggott rode 65 winners at the course. Three times Champion jockey Richard Hughes often featured prominently in Salisbury racing tips and is still a regular visitor in his new career as a trainer.
Sir Winston Churchill was a winning owner with Colonist II in the Uphavon Stakes in 1949. American jockey Steve Cauthen, dubbed “The Kentucky Kid”, made his UK debut at Salisbury in 1979 and won on Marquee Universal for Trainer Barry Hills.
Sovereign Stakes
Salisbury stages fifteen race days per year between the start of May and mid-October. The August meeting stages two of the biggest races of the season here with the Group 3 Sovereign Stakes and the Listed Uphavon Fillies’ Stakes.
The Listed Cathedral Stakes is the feature event at Salisbury in June while the Group 3 Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes is the highlight of the September meeting.
Salisbury Races
The Cathedral Stakes is a Listed race for two-year-olds over six furlongs and was first run in 2002. It has been dominated by the local stable of Richard Hannon. Father (4 victories) and son (2 victories) have won the race six times between them in the past eleven years.
The Uphavon Fillies’ Stakes is a Listed race for fillies and mares aged three years and upwards over a mile and a quarter. It carries a purse of £50,000 and attracts some high class fillies. The Sovereign Stakes is the most valuable race of the season at Salisbury with prize money of £75,000. It is for colts and geldings aged three years or older and takes place over the straight mile.
The Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes is a Group 3 race for two-year-old fillies over six furlongs. It was upgraded from Listed class in 2014 and is named in honour of a former racehorse trainer, breeder and owner. The Listed Stonehenge Stakes was first run in 2001 and is for two-year-olds over a mile. There are also plenty of Salisbury tips for the handicap races during the summer, notably the Bibury Cup.
Famous Races and Racehorses at Salisbury
Although it is not a Grade 1 track, Salisbury has played host to some very famous racehorses in its time. Past winners here include Gimcrack (1768), Eclipse (1769) and Sun Chariot (1941). Mill Reef and Brigadier Gerard both won at Salisbury in 1970. In more recent times, 2006 Derby winner Sir Percy and 2008 Oaks winner Look Here were both successful at the Wiltshire track.
The Sovereign Stakes was established in 2000 to replace the Whitchurch Conditions Stakes. The race has been won by some high class horses. Andrew Balding has won it three times with his globetrotting performers Passing Glance (2003), Side Glance (2011) and Tullius (2012). Side Glance was a son of Passing Glance and gained a notable Grade 1 success in Australia’s Mackinnon Stakes at Flemington in 2013. Other notable winners of the race include Norse Dancer (2004), Kodi Bear (2015) and Ballet Concerto (2017).
The Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes was won by Clive Brittain’s Crimplene in 1999. She did not look anything exceptional when beating Forever Midnight by a head but was placed in the Group 1 Cheveley Park Stakes next time. She continued her improvement as a three-year-old, winning the Irish 1000 Guineas, Coronation Stakes and Nassau Stakes.
The Uphavon Stakes has been won by high top class fillies including John Gosden’s Journey in 2015. She won a Listed race at Newmarket next time by eight lengths before finishing second in a Group 1 at Ascot. She returned to Ascot in 2012 to win the British Champion Fillies & Mares Stakes by four lengths.
Among the winners of the Cathedral Stakes are subsequent Group 1 sprinters Avonbridge (2003) and Sakhee’s Secret (2007). Elm Park (2014) is the most notable winner of the Stonehenge Stakes to date, winning the Royal Lodge Stakes and Racing Post Trophy for Andrew Balding. He disappointed in the 2015 Epsom Derby when refusing to settle and was retired to stud in France in 2017.
Salisbury Betting Tips
Richard Hannon Jnr has had more than twice as many runners and winners at Salisbury than any other trainer in the past three seasons. He has maintained a respectable 15% strike rate and his nearest rivals are Andrew Balding and Clive Cox. The trainer to follow for the best horse racing tips for Salisbury today is John Gosden. He has a 33% strike rate and a level stakes profit of more than 100% over the same period.
Tom Marquand is the jockey to follow at Salisbury with a handy 15% strike rate generating a small level stakes profit. Andrea Atzeni also features in our Salisbury betting tips. He is the only rider to return a higher percentage (23%) and usually makes his trip to Wiltshire worthwhile.