What Should I Expect at the Qatar Goodwood Festival? Glorious Goodwood!
Glorious Goodwood is always one of the biggest racing festivals of the summer. Five-days of exciting racing action that sees many top runners and riders competing for a wealth of top prizes.
Goodwood is more than just a race meeting, it is also a social event with Ladies Day, Fashion Awards and even an annual cricket match in front of Goodwood House!
Let’s run through all five days to highlight some of the key events set to start at this year’s festival.
Glorious Goodwood – The Five Days of the Festival
The festival runs from the 29th July to the 2nd August, featuring five days of racing and a host of other social events throughout the five days.
Tuesday 29th July – Goodwood Cup Day
The big race of the day is the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup. First contested in 1849, there’s now a £500,000 purse for the race. Famous past winners include the exceptional Stradivarius, who won the race four times from 2017 to 2020.
Fashionistas will also be in attendance, seeing who is the best dressed amongst the thousands in attendance to win the Fashion Award and then at the end of the day’s racing, head over to Goodwood House to watch the annual cricket contest between Lord March’s Racing XI against a Sussex XI.
Wednesday 30th July – Sussex Stakes Day
Wednesday sees another big Group 1 race as the highlight of the days racing, the Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes, known colloquially as the ‘Duel on the Downs’.
The race has seen some of the most famous winners in Goodwood history including Rock of Gibraltar (2002), Henrythenavigator (2008), Frankel (2011 and 2012) and last year’s winner Notable Speech.
Thursday 31st July – Ladies’ Day
Dust off your posh frocks and hats, as it is time for the ladies to shine on Ladies’ Day of Glorious Goodwood. A key race is the female-jockey-only Markel Magnolia Cup, which begins the day’s racing.
Another big attraction for fans also comes in the Group 1 Qatar Nassau Stakes. First contested in 1961, this mile race was won by Opera Singer last year. The horse is following in the footsteps of famous previous winners such as three-time winner Midday, Ouija Board, and two-time winners Ruby Tiger and Roussalka.
Friday 1st August – King George Day
The penultimate day of the festival is all about the fastest sprinters in racing as they go head to head in the big race of the day, the Group 2 King George Qatar Stakes. However, a very good day of racing also includes the Coral Golden Mile and the Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes.
The five-furlong King George Stakes was dominated by Battaash, who won the race four times from 2017 to 2020 and whose name is forever linked with this 5-furlong sprint. Last year’s winner was Big Evs.
Saturday 2nd August – Stewards’ Cup Day
The final day of Glorious Goodwood sees the Coral Stewards’ Cup as the big race. The final day is one of the most popular for families, with an emphasis on the social side of racing, as much as what happens on the track itself.
The 6-furlong Stewards Cup has seen a number of famous winners over the years including 2021 and 2022 winner Comanche Falls, 2023 winner Aberama Gold and last year’s successful runner was Get It.
So if you love racing at the height of summer, don’t miss all the action from Glorious Goodwood this week!
