Plea for owners and trainers to support Kempton features after prize-money boost

A gauntlet has been thrown down to owners and trainers to support some of Kempton's feature jump races in the new year which have received a major injection of prize-money following a sponsorship deal with bookmakers Coral.

The track's Coral Lanzarote Hurdle day on January 15 will be worth £255,000, with the feature race offering £100,000 in total prize-money, more than double the pre-pandemic figure of an advertised £45,000 in 2020, while the Silviniaco Conti Chase rises to £80,000 from £60,000.

Kempton's card on February 26 will feature the Grade 3 Coral Chase whose value increases to £150,000 from £100,000. On the same card the Adonis Juvenile Hurdle doubles in value to £60,000, while the Pendil Novices’ Chase increases to £60,000 from £32,000. Total prize-money for the day will stand at £366,800.

In recent years there has been criticism of the standard of jump racing in the months between Christmas and the Cheltenham Festival.

Simon Clare: major opportunity to reinvigorate meetingsCredit: Ian Walton

Coral PR director Simon Clare said: "The Saturdays through January and February are really important revenue generators for racing and bookmakers. They stand and fall based on the quality and competitiveness of the racing on offer, and in recent years many have been under-performing on both scores.

"The two Kempton Park fixtures are a case in point, and with the Jockey Club we believe there is a major opportunity to reinvigorate them, as they are great race meetings with some fantastic heritage races.

"The Coral Lanzarote Hurdle is now worth £100,000, the same as the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival. The Coral Cup is three times oversubscribed every year, it is therefore inconceivable that the Lanzarote should fail to be a full field next month.

"The Coral Chase in February is now worth £150,000, significantly more than any handicap staged at the Cheltenham Festival and up there with the likes of the Coral Welsh Grand National, the Coral Scottish Grand National and bet365 Gold Cup in terms of value.

"We are hoping owners and trainers keep it uppermost in their minds for highly-rated three-mile chasers, particularly as it's a race where classy horses have carried plenty of weight to victory."

The increases are part of a wider boost to prize-money in 2022 across the Jockey Club's 15 racecourses announced this week.

The total prize-money figure of £58.2 million represents an increase of more than £12m on forecast total prize-money for 2021 at Jockey Club Racecourses and a boost of nearly £5m compared to the pre-pandemic level of £53.4m. It includes an executive contribution from Jockey Club funds of £28.4m – an increase of £2m.

Kempton clerk of the course and regional head of racing Barney Clifford said: "While the largest increases are to the feature contests, it should also be noted that all races at both fixtures have more prize-money on offer in 2022 due to additional in-house investment, which I'm sure will be appreciated by all as the industry continues its recovery from the challenges of the last couple of years."

Trainer Tom George, who won the Coral Chase this year with Clondaw Castle and previously with dual winner Nacarat, added: "I'm delighted to see the increase in prize-money and, while there is a way to go in terms of day-to-day racing, this is definitely news to be welcomed."

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