Christmas spirit and competitive racing will collide at UTTOXETER on December 9 for CHRISTMAS JUMPER RACEDAY. With the first flag scheduled for 1:00pm, the course will sparkle with colour, excitement, and the subtle promise of one last pre-Christmas push from every horse, trainer, and jockey. The air will feel lighter, cheers will echo louder, and each jump will carry the weight of winter ambition. It’s a day infused with warmth, courage, and festive magic, and as the crowd gathers — draped in wool, tinsel, glitter, and bold Christmas jumpers — six races will be poised to lift the December sky.
The Class 3 showdowns will be where the card finds its edge. Race 1, the TGF Construction Christmas Bonanza Beginners’ Chase (Part of “Chasing Excellence” Initiative) (GBB), will begin at 1:00pm as a Class 3 opener striking like a spark in the cold afternoon, a beginners’ chase asking its three contenders to face 15 fences over 2m4f with a winner’s purse of £6,337 waiting at the end.
Contenders: Fingle Bridge, Largy Belter, Phantomofthepoints. Race 4, the Avonside Supplies & Etex Handicap Chase (GBB Race), arrives at 2:30pm as the second Class 3 test, a longer challenge run over 3m10y with 18 fences and £6,179 on offer to the winner. Contenders: Popova, Sole Solution, Autonomous Cloud, Madaket, Bells Of Peterboro, Ski Lodge, Itseemslikeit.
Highlights of the day reflect the festive soul of Uttoxeter, with Christmas Jumper Raceday magic drawing a crowd dressed in colour and Christmas spirit. Families will be at the heart of it, with all under-18s entering free, bringing young energy and shared excitement. It will be a celebration of community, uniting local supporters and first-time visitors, while the course embraces the season through activities, music and festive cheer. For many stables, it will be one last December push, one more chance to send their horses into the holidays with confidence and pride.
The remaining races will carry the afternoon forward. Race 2, the Support The Injured Jockeys Fund Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, begins at 1:30pm as a Class 4 handicap over 2m7f70y with 12 obstacles and a winner’s purse of £4,066, shaped by 6 runners. Race 3, the Camburg Maiden Hurdle (GBB), follows at 2:00pm with maiden hurdlers facing 9 hurdles over 1m7f168y, chasing £4,193 among 11 contenders.
Race 5, the Pektron Handicap Hurdle at 3:00pm, is another Class 4 test with 9 runners covering 1m7f168y and 9 hurdles for £4,066. Race 6, the Mares’ Handicap Hurdle, closes the afternoon at 3:33pm with 10 mares tackling 10 hurdles over 2m3f207y for a £3,248 winner’s purse, blending grit and grace into the final moment of the day.
Tomorrow, the jumps will matter, the colours will shine, and Uttoxeter will feel like a racecourse wrapped in holiday spirit. It’s the kind of day that lifts winter, brings strangers together and lets racing tell its story one leap at a time. And when the first runners move toward the tape, you’ll feel it — that spark in the cold air that says a proper Christmas raceday is about to begin.
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