The Qatar Goodwood Festival once more sparkled in the summer sunshine for five fantastic days on the Sussex Downs last week; read our Glorious Goodwood Review for the big winners at the 2024 meeting. The action was thrilling and some top-quality performers were strutting their stuff on the turf. Here’s our look back on one of the biggest weeks of the summer with four standout moments.
Glorious Goodwood Review: Big Evs
Big Evs enjoyed his second Glorious Goodwood victory in the King George Stakes, adding to his Molecomb win last summer. It was a high quality Group 2 contest, in which four of the first five home in the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot filled four of the first five places.
This time, Big Evs did just enough to repel the rallying Australian mare Asfoora and they will meet again in the Nunthorpe at York later this month. Connections of Big Evs have been widely praised for their unwavering stance in the face of big-money offers to sell their prized possession.
Paul and Rachael Teasdale named Big Evs after their late friend Paul Evans and they won’t be cashing in just yet. “We’ve had in excess of 40 or 50 offers for Big Evs,” said Paul Teasdale. “We’ll always think about his future as a stallion but there is no way he is racing for anyone other than us.”
Glorious Goodwood Review: Stewards’ Cup
Trainer George Baker was a popular local winner as Got It claimed the spoils in the Stewards’ Cup on Saturday, one of Britain’s major sprint handicaps. The six-year-old was ridden by Pat Cosgrave and led from start to finish after beginning right against the side rail in stall 28. He was a 40/1 outsider and his win was just the tonic for Baker on home soil.
“Being a Sussex man, I’ve been coming to this race since I was five, six, seven, and I watched it for many years before I became a racehorse trainer – so to go and win this race on my doorstep means a huge amount,” he said. “It really does tick a massive box for me.”
Glorious Goodwood Review: Notable Success
Notable Speech showed a blistering turn of foot to become the first Newmarket 2000 Guineas winner since Frankel to follow up at Glorious Goodwood in the Sussex Stakes. The Godolphin inmate was disappointing at Royal Ascot in June, suffering his first career defeat in the St James’s Palace Stakes, but he rebounded in hugely impressive fashion – seeing off Maljoom with plenty to spare.
The US looks a likely destination and Notable Speech later this year, with the Breeders’ Cup Mile a target as Charlie Appleby and William Buick look to bag that contest for a fourth year on the trot.
Glorious Goodwood Review: Placings Reversed
Roger Varian’s Jabaara appeared to have justified favouritism in the Oak Tree Stakes but a stewards’ inquiry was moved to instead hand the race to Raqiya for Owen Burrows. James Doyle’s partner was edging across to the far rail at the furlong pole and impeded the runner-up, with only a head between them at the line.
Raqiya’s jockey Jim Crowley was adamant in the stewards’ room that the best filly had finished second and the panel agreed. Burrows said: “Roger is one of my best mates, so it’s never nice to win one like that. Jim felt we would have won with a clear run, and watching it a few times on the big screen, we probably felt we would have been an unlucky loser.”
By Jack Ogalbe
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