Clonmel Racecourse is a dual purpose racecourse situated 2km outside Clonmel in county Tipperary. Clonmel hosts up to 12 meetings annually and they there race throughout the year.

Clonmel Racecourse is nestled in the River Suir valley and is renowned as one of the most scenic racecourses in the country with Slievenamon to the north and the Comeragh Mountains to the south.

In 2009, extensive refurbishment of the racecourse facilities was carried out. Roughly 30,000 people attend Clonmel throughout the year.

The feature race of the year is the grade 2 Clonmel Oil Steeplechase. It is run over 2m 4f and is scheduled to take place every November. The race has been won by the likes of Dorans Pride and Beef or Salmon. The following race on the card that day is a Mares' Listed Chase

Clonmel Racecourse characteristics

The course at Clonmel is a right handed, oval shaped track with a circumference of around 10f. The home straight is just over 2f and is on an ascent so it can be quite a stiff finish. The ascent continues past the stands and up the far side, through the back straight to the top of the course. The track then begins a steady descent towards the end of the back straight heading back into the home straight. The chase course is situated inside the hurdle course.

For course information and going reports on the day, Down Royal Racecourse provide updates on their Twitter account or course website.

Is there a pace bias at Clonmel racecourse?

On the flat, Clonmel has one of, if not the biggest, front running biases in the country.

Of the 102 front running attempts on the flat since 2009, 29 have won, yielding a win rate of 28.43% and a win P&L of 85.17. This win rate figure comparatively, is the highest in Ireland (and the UK for that matter).

Front runners or prominent racers, when grouped together, have a  78.4% win rate on flat (73% in 8+ runner handicaps). This figure increases to 80.35% on good ground or better and naturally decreases on softer ground. The reasoning here is the prominent group can sometimes do too much out in front on soft ground and can struggle to get home on the straight.

The jumps course similarly favours front and prominent runners. Front runners have in fact been profitable to follow since 2009, boasting a win P&L of 212.63.

The winner, on the jumps course, generally takes a forward position coming down the hill and into the home straight. Interestingly, there is less of a front running bias in handicap hurdle races. The 3m handicap hurdle races with 8+ runners for example, have seen 3/53 front runners win since 2009. The majority of the winners have actually come from mid-division or have been held up in the rear. So essentially every race and distance bar 3m hurdles favour front runners or prominent runners here showing what a strong pace bias there is at Clonmel racecourse.

Is there a draw bias at Clonmel racecourse?

There are not a lot of flat meetings at Clonmel throughout the year. It is, though, generally more beneficial to be drawn low, however, pace is undoubtedly more important.

Over 1m 2f (8+ runner handicaps), the lower section of the draw has a strike rate of 10.61% which is almost twice as strong as middle or high draws.

The heat map below is a combination of draw and pace in all races over 1m 2f. It is interesting to note that high drawn runners that have got an early lead have a 50% strike rate and a win P&L of +17.5. There are not many races to go by but this does result in very positive PRB, A/E and IV scores.

The draw bias is well known and is generally factored in to the prices over this distance. But it would be well worth monitoring pace maps in the future for front runners drawn wide that could be given an easy lead.

Who are the top trainers at Clonmel racecourse?

Clonmel racecourse hosts racing over both codes so let's look at the top trainer stats at Clonmel for each code separately:

Top flat racing trainers at Clonmel

Aidan O’Brien has only had 5 runners (and 2 winners) at Clonmel since 2009.

Of the trainers with 15+ runners, David Wachman has the best win rate of 31.58%. Willie McCreery lies second at 25%.

In handicap races, Mick Halford has won 3 out of 7 attempts with a win P&L of 27.5, proving to have the best strike rate and highest win P&L.

Top jumps racing trainers at Clonmel

Willie Mullins has an excellent strike rate of 39.92% at Clonmel and is also profitable to follow with a win P&L of 42.15.

For reference, Gordon Elliott has a 16.9% strike rate (-58.21 win P&L) and Henry De Bromhead has a 16.8% strike rate.

De Bromhead however has been profitable to follow with a win P&L of 21.32. Gordon Elliott can be profitable to follow at Clonmel, focusing solely on handicaps he has a win P&L of 18.69.

Who are the top jockeys at Clonmel racecourse?

Once again we'll examine the top jockeys at Clonmel individually by code just as we did for the best trainers at Clonmel:

Top flat racing jockeys at Clonmel

Of the jockeys currently riding, Billy Lee has the best win ratio with 15.69%. He has also been profitable to follow with a win P&L of 8.58.

Declan McDonagh has been the most profitable of the  jockeys to follow at Clonmel with a win P&L of 21.88.

Billy Lee has the best strike rate in handicap races with 16.67% whereas Shane Foley has been the most profitable to follow with a win P&L of 24.

Top jumps racing jockeys at Clonmel

Patrick Mullins has the best strike rate over jumps with a 37.8% win ratio, even bettering the record of the now retired Ruby Walsh  who is in second at 30.91%. Taking NHF races out of the equation see’s Patrick Mullins' record improve further with an even better win rate of 40%.

*Figures correct as of 10/09/2020