# Bangor-on-Dee Champion Chase: Complete Guide _Your complete guide to the Bangor-on-Dee Champion Chase — Wales's signature handicap chase and a key contest at Bangor-on-Dee Racecourse._ *Source: [https://stablebet.co.uk/uk-racecourses/bangor-on-dee/bangor-on-dee-champion-chase-guide/](https://stablebet.co.uk/uk-racecourses/bangor-on-dee/bangor-on-dee-champion-chase-guide/) · last updated 2026-03-02* There is no Bangor-on-Dee Champion Chase. This page described one as Wales's signature handicap chase, and no race of that name exists. The Wikipedia article on the course carries no notable-races table and no notable-races field at all, and the official fixture list names only themed racedays. The name follows a pattern worth recognising: a course name with "Champion Chase" bolted on to it. The real Champion Chase is Cheltenham's Grade 1. The title of this page still carries the wrong name while a measurement window runs on it, and it will be corrected when that window closes. **Bangor-on-Dee has no named feature race.** That is the honest answer, and it is not a failing of the place. The course markets days rather than races, and its own fixture list bills the November highlight as **Listed Mares' Trophy Day**, not as a race. Great British Racing describes the same occasion as the "Anne Duchess of Westminster Charity day in November featuring the listed race", again without naming it. If a Class 1 race has to be cited, there is exactly one: the **Mares' Novices' Chase (Listed)**, run for the Richard Aston Memorial Trophy over 2 miles 1 furlong 77 yards in November. It is not a handicap. Its title carries a rotating sponsor prefix, which is why this guide uses the unsponsored stem: recent racecards and results give it under two different sponsor names. This guide covers the [history](/uk-racecourses/bangor-on-dee/bangor-on-dee-champion-chase-guide/#history), the [winners](/uk-racecourses/bangor-on-dee/bangor-on-dee-champion-chase-guide/#great-winners), the [course and conditions](/uk-racecourses/bangor-on-dee/bangor-on-dee-champion-chase-guide/#the-course) and the [betting angles](/uk-racecourses/bangor-on-dee/bangor-on-dee-champion-chase-guide/#betting-angles). For the course itself, see the [complete guide](/uk-racecourses/bangor-on-dee/bangor-on-dee-complete-guide/). ## History Bangor-on-Dee's history is not the history of a feature race, because it does not have one. This page used to claim otherwise, tracing a "Champion Chase" back to the late 19th century as the course's premier contest. There is no such race and there never was. ### A course that brands days, not races The pattern holds right through to the present fixture list, which bills the course's November highlight as Listed Mares' Trophy Day. Great British Racing calls the same occasion the Anne Duchess of Westminster Charity day, "featuring the listed race", and does not name the race either. Where other tracks have a trophy that outlives its sponsors, Bangor-on-Dee has a day. ### The one Class 1 race, and how recent it is The single Listed race on the calendar is a mares' novices' chase run for the Richard Aston Memorial Trophy over 2m 1f 77y in November. It is a conditions race rather than a handicap. Its title moves with its sponsor rather than staying put, which is the practical reason it does not function as a signature name. A Sky Sports result page records it as the Yorton Stallions Mares' Novices' Chase; a later Sporting Life racecard gives the Yorton Mares' Novices' Chase. Same race, two titles, a few seasons apart. ### What the course actually is Wikipedia's description is short and to the point: a left-handed National Hunt racecourse, and one that does not have a grandstand. Great British Racing gives it fourteen jump fixtures a year on the banks of the River Dee. It is jumps-only, so any Flat race attributed to it would be impossible. The [history of Bangor-on-Dee](/uk-racecourses/bangor-on-dee/bangor-on-dee-history/) covers the course's longer story. ## The Course & Conditions The Listed mares' novices' chase is run over 2 miles 1 furlong 77 yards in November. Everything on this page is about that race and that trip, because there is no Bangor-on-Dee Champion Chase to write about. ### The track Bangor-on-Dee is a left-handed National Hunt course on the banks of the River Dee, and it famously has no grandstand: spectators watch from a natural bank alongside the track. Earlier versions of this page called the circuit undulating and gave it a mile-and-a-quarter circumference. Neither figure could be verified from a source we would publish, so neither appears here. The [complete guide](/uk-racecourses/bangor-on-dee/bangor-on-dee-complete-guide/#the-course) covers the layout. ### Conditions in November The Listed race is a November fixture, so it is run on winter ground rather than the quicker surfaces of the summer jumping circuit. The course publishes its going reports at [bangorondeeraces.co.uk](https://www.bangorondeeraces.co.uk). ### What the race asks for It is a novices' chase and it is not a handicap, so the field is made up of mares at an early stage over fences meeting on conditions terms rather than on marks. That makes it a class test rather than a weights puzzle, which is the opposite of what this page used to describe. ## Betting Angles & Trends Context for reading the race, not selections. Backing favourites at Bangor-on-Dee loses money to starting price over time, as it does everywhere, because the SP carries the bookmaker's margin. ### Start by getting the race right The previous version of this page offered angles for a Grade 2 handicap chase. Bangor-on-Dee's one Class 1 race is a Listed **novices'** chase for **mares**, and it is **not a handicap**. Any angle built on handicap marks, a weights-level playing field or exposed chasers is aimed at a race that is not run here. ### Conditions races reward class, not cleverness In a non-handicap the weights do not do the work of equalising the field, so the better horse is meant to win and usually does. That is worth knowing before treating a short price as an overlay hunting ground. ### Novices over fences in November Every runner is at an early stage of a chasing career on winter ground. Hurdle form and the small number of chase starts each has behind it are the evidence available, and there is not much of it. Treat the race as a reading of raw ability rather than a form puzzle with a solution in it. ### What we do not hold We have no verified roll of honour for this race, so there are no trends on this page and none have been invented. For the course's wider angles see the [betting guide](/uk-racecourses/bangor-on-dee/bangor-on-dee-betting-guide/), and our model's published record is on the [track record page](/ai-race-predictor/track-record/). ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Is there a Bangor-on-Dee Champion Chase? There is no Bangor-on-Dee Champion Chase. Earlier versions of this page described one, gave it a grade and a prize fund, and called it Wales's signature handicap chase. No race of that name exists at the course. The Champion Chase in British jump racing is Cheltenham's Grade 1. ### What is the biggest race at Bangor-on-Dee? The course has no named feature race. Its one Class 1 contest is a Listed mares' novices' chase, run for the Richard Aston Memorial Trophy over 2m 1f 77y in November. The course itself markets the occasion as a raceday rather than by the race, and its fixture list calls it Listed Mares' Trophy Day. ### Why does the race have a different name every year? Because the title carries a rotating sponsor prefix. It appears as the Yorton Stallions Mares' Novices' Chase on one result and as the Yorton Mares' Novices' Chase on a later racecard. This guide uses the unsponsored stem for that reason. ### Is the Listed race a handicap? No. It is a conditions race for mares who are novices over fences, so the runners meet on race conditions rather than on official ratings. ### Is there Flat racing at Bangor-on-Dee? No. It is a National Hunt course only, staging around fourteen jump fixtures a year on the banks of the River Dee. ### Is it true that Bangor-on-Dee has no grandstand? Yes. Wikipedia's description of the course notes it directly, and it is the detail most first-time visitors are told about before they arrive.