All Weather Flat Course
This All-Weather Championships race is restricted to three year olds and is run over the sprint distance of 6f.
As with the other All-Weather Championships contests, this takes place on Good Friday each year, with this Three Year Old race the fourth on the card.
Some top jockeys have ridden home the winner here with Oisin Murphy, Robert Winston and Christophe Soumillon all victorious in the race’s short history.
AW 3 Year Old Championships Course Map (All Weather Flat Course)
AW 3 Year Old Championships Past Winners
| Year | Winner | SP | Trainer | Jockey |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Fire Demon | 9/4 | Andrew Balding | Oisin Murphy |
| 2023 | Desert Cop | 11/1 | Andrew Balding | Oisin Murphy |
| 2022 | El Caballo | 13/8 | Karl Burke | Clifford Lee |
| 2021 | Diligent Harry | 2/1 | Clive Cox | Adam Kirby |
| 2020 | Abandoned | - | - | - |
| 2019 | Transcendent | 11/4 | Fabrice Chappet | Christophe Soumillon |
| 2018 | Corinthia Knight | 5/4 | Archie Watson | Oisin Murphy |
| 2017 | Second Thought | 11/8 | William Haggas | Robert Winston |
| 2016 | Wolowitz | 4/1 | David Barron | Graham Gibbons |
| 2015 | Four Seasons | 6/1 | Charlie Appleby | Adam Kirby |
| 2014 | Ertijaal | 4/5 | William Haggas | Paul Hanagan |
About the 3 Year Old All-Weather Championships
The Three Year Old Championship race is the final hurdle in the all-weather season for many of the younger horses and their trainers. It is one of seven races run at Newcastle (previously Lingfield) on Good Friday for the All-Weather Championship Finals Day. The entire program shares a prize pot of £1 million pounds which is distributed between each of the purses available for each race. The Three Year Old Championship race has a purse of £150,000 on offer for the runners, and as such, contenders are not in short supply.
For a horse to qualify for a place they must take place in at least three all-weather races between the months of October and March, while also maintaining a rating high enough to beat the other competitors to a place. There is an alternative which gets you a spot in the starting line-up right away. That alternative is to win one of the four qualifying races held within the qualifying period.
Balding and Haggas Clear of the Field
The horses which are available to compete within this lucrative race are able to do so if they are competing in two year old races from October to the end of the year, and in three year old races only from the beginning of January. Although these criteria seem quite restrictive, it still leaves many stables vying for a position. In fact many horses have a sole purpose of achieving a place in this highly paid race.
Looking through the list of previous winners certainly shows some very high achieving horses and trainers alike. However, there is only two trainers since the championships conception in 2013 who have been able to win the race more than once, William Haggas and Andrew Balding.
Haggas, who is based at the Somerville Lodge stables in Newmarket won the first 3 Year Old Championships race in 2014, following up with his second in 2017. Balding, who trains in Kingsclere to the south of Newbury, won successive races in 2023 and 2024.
Both trainers have won other championship races which are also run on the same day, and are currently the two most successful trainers on All-Weather Championships Finals Day. This is truly a testament to their ability within the all-weather category, and both should always be respected within the markets.
When assessing the chances of runners in this six furlong race, course and distance success should also be noted, or failing that at least some good runs over the same distance on other all-weather tracks or a similar distance at Newcastle.