Goodwood Racecourse, widely acknowledged as the most picturesque in Europe, if not the world, is situated on the edge of the South Downs National Park in West Sussex. The racecourse was established, in 1802, by the Third Duke of Richmond and, today, is synonymous with Glorious Goodwood, which attracts over 100,000 visitors each summer. Including Glorious Goodwood, the course stages 19 Flat meetings a year between May and October.
Course Characteristics
The round course at Goodwood is peculiar in designed insofar as it consists of a six-furlong straight, which is joined at around the four-furlong marker by a right-handed triangular loop. In races of a mile and threequarters and longer, horses initially run away from the stands, around the loop and back towards the winning post while in races of a mile and a half and shorter they run towards the stands all the way. One the whole, Goodwood is fairly sharp and best suited to agile, nimble types, but the sprint course is very sharp indeed.
Track Facts
Goodwood hosts two Group 1 races, the Sussex Stakes, over a mile, and the Nassau Stakes, over a mile and a quarter, each year.
In 2012, the unbeaten Frankel became the first horse to win the Sussex Stakes twice.
Despite saddling just one winner at Glorious Goodwood in 2013, North Yorkshire trainer Mark Johnston has saddled 27 winners at the five-day festival since 2006, including seven winners from 23 runners (30%) in 2012.