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SKY BET SUNDAY SERIES DATE: Sunday 11th June 2023

LOCATION: The Racecourse, York Road, Beverley, HU17 8QZ.

The historic Westwood pastures on the outskirts of Beverley first staged racing in 1690, with the founding of the Jockey Club in 1752 formalising its presence in a town famous for cobbled streets and a majestic Minster.

An annual fixture was established in 1767, the same year in which the first Grandstand (costing £1,000) was built. By the 19th century a popular three-day meeting was taking place in the week after York’s May meeting.

The racecourse itself played an important role during the war years, serving as an airbase for military personnel, with the track’s famous uphill finish doubling-up as the runway.

In 2023, Beverley will stage 20 fixtures between April and September. Alongside the Sky Bet Sunday Series fixture, the Beverley Bullet (5f) and the Hilary Needler Trophy (also run over 5f, but restricted to two-year-olds) are the seasonal highlights.

Beverley is a stiff right-handed galloping oval which measures approximately 1m3f in circumference. The Westwood (as Beverley is also known) is renowned for having one of the toughest and most demanding 5f sprint courses in the country.

The draw can have a significant impact on the result of a race, with a low draw (closest to the inside rail) usually advantageous in sprints, although this is sometimes negated when conditions are testing when the runner’s edge over towards the stands’ side.

The Great Habton trainer Tim Easterby has saddled most Beverley winners (40) over the last five years, and was indeed the leading trainer (9-107; 8%, -£60.50) at the East Yorkshire venue in 2022.

Four trainers - Charlie and Mark Johnston (7-31; 23%), Paul Midgley (7-43; 16%), Richard Fahey (7-44; 16%) and David O’Meara (7-45; 16%) – were in close proximity to Easterby. Of that quartet, Westow-based Midgley fared strongest in terms of achieving a level-stakes profit (+£18.83).

Ben Curtis (15-48; 31%, +£2.35) was the jockey to follow at Beverley last year, riding nine more winners than his closest pursuers – P J McDonald (6-17; 35%), Daniel Tudhope/Connor Beasley (6-47; 13%) and Graham Lee (6-50; 12%). However, McDonald did fare slightly better in terms of strike-rate (35%), also posting a healthy level-stakes profit of +£19.02.

In 2022, Paul Hanagan partnered Tis Marvellous (Clive Cox) for a second successive win in the Listed Beverley Bullet, while the Scotsman Daniel Tudhope was aboard the Hilary Needler Trophy heroine Star of Lady M (David O’Meara).

“="I love Beverley. I have a good record there. It’s our local track and ours always seem to run well. The ideal way to ride Beverley is from the front end, as usually you won’t see many finishing off from behind. Although the races tend to be run at a fast pace, if you can slow things up a fraction turning for home, you’ll find yourself in the best position to kick on again for the finish. Beverley is a beautiful track, one of my favourites."

"Being right-handed and uphill, Beverley is a unique track. Ideally, you don’t want to be trapped out wide, although on soft ground we will usually move over middle-to-stands’ side. You need a horse that can travel but given the stiff uphill finish, you also need to be able to see out the trip."

Some find the stiff uphill Beverley finish a shade too taxing, but others revel up it with Ginger Jam and Casili (5-8; 63%) and Zihaam (5-29; 17%) regular visitors to the winner’s enclosure over the last five years.

Four horses – Beautiful Aisling (George Scott), Appier (Sean Woods), Elegant Erin (Paul Midgley) and She’s Got Bottle (Roger Fell) – enjoyed an unblemished record (all 2-2) at Beverley last year.

Scanning further back, it is evident that the Beverley Bullet has seen various repeat winners since its inception: Chookie Heiton (2004 & 2005), Take Cover (2017 & 2018) and Tis Marvellous (2021 & 2022).

Beverley joins the Sky Bet Sunday Series ranks for the first time in 2023, taking over from nearby York who staged the second Sunday Series fixture of the year in 2022.

Walbank (David Loughnane) was a most impressive juvenile winner at last year’s York fixture before going onto finish runner-up in the Norfolk Stakes (Royal Ascot) and the Molecomb Stakes (Qatar Goodwood Festival).

Meanwhile, Karl Burke’s Eilean Dubh supplemented his earlier Hamilton win, emerging as the pacesetter in the hotly contested race for the £100,000 Sunday Series bonus.