Ffos Las betting with William Hill

Ffos Las is in Camarthenshire, West Wales and stages both flat and National Hunt racing.

It became the first new jumps course to be opened in 80 years when the inaugural meeting was held in June 2009. It is the new home of the Welsh Champion Hurdle, formerly run at Chepstow before being axed in 2003.

William Hill promotions include daily price boosts, special offers and the best Ffos Las betting.

Betting at Ffos Las – the big meetings

The big Ffos Las betting event of the year is the Welsh Champion Hurdle which takes place on a Saturday in October. The 2018 race was won by Silver Streak, trained by Evan Williams.

The grey went on to finish a creditable third to Espoir D’Allen in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March 2019.

The West Wales National was originally held in mid-winter but has now been moved to April. There are several evening meetings followed by live music and a Ladies Day in August. There is also a popular Christmas Party Raceday in mid-December.

Ffos Las betting – the big races

The Welsh Champion Hurdle is the flagship Ffos Las betting race of the season. It used to be held at Chepstow and was won by some of the greatest hurdlers of all time.

Cheltenham Champion Hurdle winners Persian War (1969), Bula (1971), Night Nurse (1976, 1977) and Sea Pigeon (1980) are all on the roll of honour.

The race fell out of favour in the 1990’s and the decision was taken to change it into a handicap to make it more competitive. It was eventually dropped from the calendar in 2003 but was revived by Ffos Las with the first renewal taking place in 2011.

The West Wales National is a handicap chase over three and a half miles. Llancarfan trainer Evan Williams completed a double in the two feature races in 2018/19 with Silver Streak (Welsh Champion Hurdle) and Pobbles Bay (West Wales National).

Ffos Las betting tips

Jockey Sean Bowen was appointed an ambassador for Ffos Las in 2019. He was born in Little Newcastle in Pembrokeshire and has enjoyed a meteoric rise through the jockey’s ranks in recent seasons.

He often rewards his supporters in the Ffos Las betting, particularly over fences. Adam Wedge has enjoyed plenty of success over hurdles where he maintains a very good strike rate.

Peter Bowen has been the leading trainer at Ffos Las over jumps while Newport-based Rebecca Curtis also does well in chases here.

Any runners making the trip from Lambourn for Nicky Henderson usually feature in plenty of Ffos Las tips. Nigel Twiston-Davies has a very good record with his runners in National Hunt flat races.

Shane Kelly and Fran Berry have been the most successful jockeys on the flat at this venue in recent seasons. David Evans has been the most prolific trainer on the flat at Ffos Las and runners saddled by Andrew Balding and Roger Charlton are usually worth noting.

Visit news.williamhill.com for all the horse racing news and the latest Ffos Las odds.

Ffos Las betting - course characteristics

Ffos Las is a flat, galloping oval track of about a mile and a half. There is a long home straight of around half a mile and a chute for five and six furlong races on the flat.

There is no obvious draw bias here, although the jockeys do tend to favour the centre of the course in soft ground.

There is a short run-in after the last for jumps races and the fences are generally considered fair. Stamina is a key factor in soft ground for your Ffos Las tips as the going can get very testing.

Ffos Las horse racing history

Ffos Las is built at the site of a former open cast coal mine. It became the third racecourse in Wales after Chepstow and Bangor-on-Dee. £20 million was invested in the creation of the racecourse which is situated in a natural amphitheatre.

The course was granted eight meetings for 2009 and opened to a sell-out crowd of 10,000 on 18th June. The first meeting was an evening meeting of jump racing and included a Ladies Night.

The opening race was won by popular Ffos Last tip Plunkett, trained locally by Evan Williams and ridden by Hywel Jones.

The first flat race at Ffos Las was the EBF Jamie Yeates Memorial Maiden Stakes on 21st July 2009. It was won by Dream Queen, trained by Barry Hills and ridden by Michael Hills. The course has also staged Arabian racing and Harness racing.

Ffos Las was sold to the Arena Racing Company in 2018 with previous owner Dai Walters staying on as honorary chairman. The racecourse also hosts corporate events, weddings and concerts. Ffos Las has ambitious plans to increase the capacity to 20,000 and provide 120 horse boxes.

Famous Ffos Las races and racehorses

The first Welsh Champion Hurdle staged at Ffos Las in 2011 was won by Oscar Whisky, trained by Nicky Henderson and ridden by Barry Geraghty. The popular son of Oscar outclassed his seven rivals to win easily after being backed down to 2-7 in the Ffos Las odds.

He was a Grade 1 winner over hurdles and fences, notably winning the Aintree Hurdle in 2011 and 2012.

In 2013, Alan King and Wayne Hutchinson teamed up to win with Medinas. He went on to win the Coral Cup at the Cheltenham Festival on his next start at odds of 33-1. His biggest victory was in the Grade 2 Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury in 2014.

Paul Nicholls won the race with Saphir Du Rheu (2014) and Silsol (2015) before Garde Le Victoire won for Philip Hobbs in 2016. The New One was a popular Ffos Las tip for the 2017 renewal. Nigel Twiston-Davies trained the gelding, the winner of 20 of his 40 races under rules.

The best horse to run at Ffos Las in its short history was Sprinter Sacre in February 2011. Not surprisingly, he was very short in the Ffos Las betting at 2-9 and eased to a 10-length success. He was rated 192 by Timeform, behind only Arkle and Flyingbolt in their all-time steeplechase figures.

Tobefair quickly became a local favourite in the Ffos Las betting and a race was named after him on Easter Monday 2019.

Trained locally by Debra Hamer at Nantycaws in Camarthenshire, he joined her in June 2015 when rated 81. He won at Worcester twice and Chepstow before racing at Ffos Las with a rating of 116.

He continued to defy the handicapper, beating Herbert Park by a neck. Victories at Chepstow, Warwick and Newbury followed which took his rating to 143.

Starting at odds of 40-1, he narrowly failed to beat Sire Du Berlais in the Pertemps Network Final at Cheltenham in 2019. Tobefair gained handsome consolation next time at the same course.

Ffos Las Racecourse - how to get there

Ffos Las is 12 miles from junction 48 off the M4 motorway. There are frequent buses between Llanelli and Carmarthen which stop at the entrance to the racecourse. There is also a shuttle bus on race days between Llanelli Railway Station and the course.