Goodwood Racecourse is famous for its five-day festival at the end of July affectionately known as `Glorious Goodwood?, before it was renamed the Qatar Goodwood Festival due to sponsorship. The Group 1 Sussex Stakes is the most illustrious race of Goodwood?s calendar and features an impressive role of honour, including the imperious Frankel.
Racing takes place on the Flat at Goodwood through the summer months and the track is sharp, right-handed and undulating. The course features two bends; the lower bend is used up to a 1 mile and 2 furlongs and any race staged over 11 furlongs uses the top bend. The track favours those who race handily, particularly in sprint races.
Goodwood is a course rich in history and dates back to 1802, when the first public race meeting was held - this was due to the success of a private meeting hosted in 1801 by the third Duke of Richmond.
A match race, run for 100 guineas, was the highlight at the public meeting and was won by Rebel owned by the Prince Regent who beat the Duke of Richmond?s Cedar. Three two mile heats were staged and the prize went to the horse who won two of the three heats.
`Glorious Goodwood? as it was named by the media, began to grow in popularity throughout the nineteenth century and was dubbed a `summer garden party with racing tacked on? by King Edward VII. The first Goodwood Cup was established in 1808, with the Group 1 Sussex Stakes and Group 1 Nassau Stakes introduced further down the line.
