Courses
Belclare
Track info
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Riders
Course stats
Winning Favourites
County: Galway |
Soil Type: Brown Earth - coarse, loamy |
Fences per circuit: 5 |
Fences per 3 mile race: 15 |
Direction: Right-Handed |
Course Distance: |
Elevation Change (Highest to Lowest Point): |
TRACK GUIDE
Located to the west of Tuam in Co. Galway, Belclare is a picture perfect course, with stone walls intersecting the centre of the course on Michael Cunningham`s land.
A largely flat course with five fences spread evenly around the course in each of the four straights of varying lengths. Runners jump three fences inside the final half-mile, beginning with the third last on the approach to the home straight, with the final two fences located in the home straight.
After jumping the final fence, runners race through a gap on the run-in before crossing the finish line which is located at the very end of the home straight, just before a right-handed bend which takes them past the enclosures.
The four-year-old maiden at the course has a particularly smart roll of honour, but will always be synonymous with producing the three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Best Mate, who won the race in 1999. Topofthegame is a more recent Cheltenham Festival victor to have also recorded his first success at the Co. Galway course, winning the 2016 renewal for Donnchadh Doyle.
DEREK O'CONNOR
Belclare is not quite a full mile around and is quite a sharp, fast track. You need a strong travelling, good jumping horse who can be ridden positively.
It is quite an easy course which makes it difficult to come from off the pace. I find there tends to be nice ground around here as it is a flat, dry track on limestone land.
