Goodwood Racecourse

For the motor racing venue, see Goodwood Circuit.
Goodwood
Location Chichester, West Sussex
Owned by Goodwood Estate
Screened on Racing UK
Course type Flat
Notable races Stewards' Cup
King George Stakes
Goodwood Cup
Official website
Goodwood Racecourse Stand
Goodwood Racecourse View past main stand
The racecourse

Goodwood Racecourse is a horse-racing track five miles north of Chichester, West Sussex, in England controlled by the family of the Duke of Richmond, whose seat is nearby Goodwood House. It hosts the annual Glorious Goodwood meeting, which is one of the highlights of the British flat racing calendar, and is home to two of the UK's 31 Group One flat races, the Sussex Stakes and the Nassau Stakes.

In 1895

It is considered to enjoy a very attractive setting to the north of Trundle Iron Age hill fort, which is used as an informal grandstand with views of the whole course. One problem is that its proximity to the coast means that it can get very foggy.

This is an unusual, complex racecourse with a straight six furlongs — the "Stewards' Cup Course" — which is uphill for the first furlong and mostly downhill thereafter. There is a tight right-handed loop at the far end of the straight on which there are starts for various longer distance courses. These include the 1 mile 2 furlongs (1m 2f) "Craven Course", the 1m 4f "Gratwicke Course" and the 1m 6f "Bentinck Course". The start for the 2m 5f "Cup Course" is quite close to the winning post – horses travel outwards on the straight, around the loop and back. Throughout the loop there are severe undulations and sharp turns. The course is used for flat racing only.

From 1968 to 1970 the course's late summer meeting was shown on ITV, and from the early 2000s some races from the course occasionally appeared on Channel 4, but otherwise the course had been covered exclusively by the BBC for 50 years from 1956 (when it first appeared on television) to 2006. From 2007, the rights have passed to Channel 4 Racing.

In the late 18th century, Goodwood became the location for the first flag start on a British racecourse, at the behest of Lord George Bentinck, after a particularly shambolic start involving jockey Sam Arnull caused by an elderly deaf starter with a speech impediment.[1]

Notable races

Month DOW Race Name Type Grade Distance Age/Sex
May Saturday Daisy Warwick Stakes Flat Listed 1m 4f 4yo + f
May Thursday Height of Fashion Stakes Flat Listed 1m 1f 192y 3yo only f
May Friday Cocked Hat Stakes Flat Listed 1m 3f 3yo only
July-August Tuesday Molecomb Stakes Flat Group 3 5f 2yo only
July-August Tuesday Lennox Stakes Flat Group 2 7f 3yo +
July-August Wednesday Vintage Stakes Flat Group 2 7f 2yo only
July-August Wednesday Gordon Stakes Flat Group 3 1m 4f 3yo only
July-August Wednesday Sussex Stakes Flat Group 1 1m 3yo +
July-August Thursday Richmond Stakes Flat Group 2 6f 2yo only
July-August Thursday Lillie Langtry Stakes Flat Group 3 1m 6f 3yo + f
July-August Thursday Goodwood Cup Flat Group 2 2m 3yo +
July-August Friday Oak Tree Stakes Flat Group 3 7f 3yo + f
July-August Friday King George Stakes Flat Group 2 5f 3yo +
July-August Friday Thoroughbred Stakes Flat Group 3 1m 3yo only
July-August Friday Glorious Stakes Flat Group 3 1m 4f 4yo +
July-August Saturday Stewards' Cup (Great Britain) Flat Handicap 6f 3yo +
July-August Saturday Nassau Stakes Flat Group 1 1m 1f 192y 3yo + f
July-August Saturday Celebration Mile Flat Group 2 1m 3yo +
July-August Saturday Prestige Stakes Flat Group 3 7f 2yo only f
July-August Saturday March Stakes Flat Listed 1m 6f 3yo +
July-August Sunday Supreme Stakes Flat Group 3 7f 3yo +
September Wednesday Foundation Stakes Flat Listed 1m 1f 192y 3yo +
September Tuesday Stardom Stakes Flat Conditions 7f 2yo only
Other races

References

  1. ↑ "Was It "Go" or "No"?". The Sunday Post. 1 August 1926. Retrieved 21 January 2014 – via British Newspaper Archive. (subscription required (help)).

External links

See also

Coordinates: 50°53′49″N 0°44′33″W / 50.89694°N 0.74250°W / 50.89694; -0.74250

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