Following a £600,000 redevelopment, Catterick Racecourse hosts its first Flat Racing fixture of the season next Monday 17 June, with local jockey, Jason Hart keen to continue his fantastic form at the track.
Hart, who is based in nearby Malton, finished last season as top jockey at Catterick, following seven wins from 51 rides, ahead of the fellow Yorkshire-based jockeys PJ McDonald and Paul Mullrennan, who both finished the campaign with six and five victories respectively.
This was the second successive season Hart has earned the accolade, after recording an impressive 11 wins from 55 rides at Catterick in 2017.
Speaking ahead of the opening fixture the 24-year-old said: “It’s a great track to ride at. It’s very close to home so that helps, and it’s been a very successful racecourse for me over the last two years. Long may that continue!
“I’ve seen some pictures and it looks like they’ve done a really good job with the redevelopments there. I can’t wait to get back riding there next week and try to make it three years in a row as top jockey as Catterick.”
Hart has enjoyed a total of 24 wins at Catterick throughout his career so far, leaving the course as his fourth-highest performing track, slightly below Redcar (28) Ayr (27) and Wolverhampton (26).
He is set to have numerous rides at Catterick next Monday, including with Indian Pursuit, who is trained by Yorkshire-based trainer, John Quinn, in the Millbry Hill Veterans’ Handicap at 2.45pm.
Hart’s biggest win of his career came just last Saturday 8th June in the Group 3 Betway John Of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock Park Racecourse with Safe Voyage, who is also trained by Quinn.
The £600,000 redevelopment at the racecourse has included new, state-of-the-art Weighing Room facilities including a warm-up area for jockeys, plus an enlarged Parade Ring and Winners Enclosure Podium.
The exciting developments of the Parade Ring have been captured by exclusive time-lapse footage:
Before After
To celebrate the opening of the new facilities, Catterick are offering racegoers the opportunity to win a visit into the new Parade Ring to judge the ‘Best Turned Out’ horse and then present the winners of a race with a prize on the newly refurbished Winners Enclosure Podium.
The opening fixture is the first of 15 at the racecourse this summer, all of which Under 18s race free with accompanying adults.
To purchase tickets and find out more about Catterick’s opening flat fixture, click here.