From Durham’s Sedgefield to Newcastle, the calendar is stacked full of competitive racing.
A particular race to keep in mind is on the 26th of November, the Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Newcastle. This is the highlight of the jumps season with champion horses and jockeys from all over the UK and Ireland heading to take part in the historic race.
The Fighting Fifth Hurdle is very much a trial for the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, the feature race on day one of the meeting or you can travel further to the Melbourne Cup 2020.
Gigginstown House Stud Identity Thief won the Fighting Fifth last year and went on to have a stellar season.
The Henry De Bromhead trained horse came runner up at Leopardstown’s Ryanair Hurdle and finished sixth in the highly competitive and huge money Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham. To top this off, the bay gelding placed second at Punchestown Irish Champions Hurdle. For everything horse racing be sure to head over to Coral so you don’t miss out on the latest news and horse racing tips on top meetings in the North East.
Newcastle’s Fighting Fifth really is an opportunity to see top horses and future stars.
My Tent Or Yours trained by Nicky Henderson, the famous Irish-bred, British-trained Thoroughbred racehorse won the 2013 race with Tony McCoy as jockey and went to finish runner up at the Championship Hurdle in 2014, losing by a neck to stablemate Jezki.
Meanwhile, Sedgefield races throughout the year with meetings almost every month. It is one of Britain’s smaller courses, but Sedgefield retains much of its old charm and character.
The Durham National is the course’s biggest meeting and features seven races over the 27th of October.