Access all areas We discover the true gems of Goodwood Racecourse
Goodwood has been synonymous with racing for more than 200 years, but the heritage of the estate goes back further. Hannah Lemieux visits the iconic track
THERE is a reason why this stunning West Sussex racecourse is affectionately known as “Glorious Goodwood”. On a sun-drenched summer’s day, there is nowhere more beautiful. Admittedly, when the unpredictable British weather does take a turn for the worse, the exposed racecourse — perched high on the top of the South Downs with far-reaching views — has no place to hide. However, the beauty and heritage of the Goodwood estate cannot be diminished, whatever the weather decides to do.
At the heart of the 12,000-acre estate is the impressive Goodwood House, about a mile down the road from the racecourse, which has original parts dating back to 1616. Ahead of a day’s racing in May, I discover the true gems of Goodwood — what makes it special and furthermore a unique racecourse setting.
The first Duke of Richmond was passionate about his hunting, and it was on the Goodwood estate that foxhunting was truly born, with one of the first organised meets, that of the Charlton Hunt, being held there in 1739. While the land also hosted private horse races, Goodwood Racecourse was a welcome addition in 1802.
The estate’s roots are firmly sporting ones and this is depicted in three George Stubbs paintings that still hang in Goodwood House today — one hunting, one racing and one shooting scene. The renowned artist was invited to Goodwood House in 1759 and these paintings were some of his earliest commissions.
Fast forward through the centuries and the estate has grown to epic levels and there are now 25 businesses trading from it — including horse and car racing, golf, shooting, an organic farm, restaurants and a hotel — in total employing 720 full-time staff.
Following the passing of the 10th Duke of Richmond in September last year, the estate was inherited by his son Lord March, the 11th Duke, who resides in the private wing with the Duchess and their four children.
ASTONE’S throw from the main house are the stables, which are unrivalled when it comes to raceday stabling — very few can boast the history it does amid its stoned walls.
Designed by architect William Chambers, the 130 stables were built by the third Duke of Richmond for his 56 hunters. Today, they are solely used on racedays. During Goodwood’s busiest meeting, the Qatar Goodwood Festival, they can stable around 70 racehorses overnight — which means very little rest for stable manager Allan Morris.
“The logistics of stabling the racehorses can fry your brain — it’s a huge jigsaw,” Allan tells me, as horseboxes arrive ahead of a busy day of Flat racing. “You have to make sure you don’t have fillies stabled near colts, for example.
“Goodwood is located quite far south, so we often have horses staying overnight,” he adds. “During Glorious Goodwood, it is particularly busy and we have to turn 60-plus stables around each day to accommodate the next load of horses arriving — it is a difficult task.” The Goodwood stables are a constant hive of activity on racedays with horses coming and going throughout the day and, because the stabling is about a mile away from the racecourse, all the horses have to be boxed up to the track via a private drive ahead of saddling.
On arrival, each horse has its microchip scanned by a British Horseracing Authority vet, to confirm it is the correct horse, before
being settled into its stable.
However, Allan’s job is not confined just to racedays.
“Beforehand, I will print off the 48-hour declarations and then make a plan of who is coming when and reference which horse is going in which stable,” explains Allan, a former jockey who has been the Goodwood stable
manager for 10 years. “Some trainers like to have the same stables each time, so I try to accommodate them.
“I’d say 95% of the time it will all go to plan but you will get the odd trainer who wants something different — it’s my job to sort that out, keep everyone happy and everything running smoothly.”
During the five-day Qatar Goodwood Festival, Allan can be working up to
18-hour days.
“Some horses will arrive from France at 3am, for example, and I have to be here. It means I do stay on site during the big meetings,” says Allan, whose wife Penny looks after the stable staff canteen and accommodation, which sits above the stables.
AS racegoers start to pour in through the Goodwood Racecourse gates, clerk of the course Ed Arkell has already had a busy morning in preparation. Having arrived at the track at 5am, the first thing on Ed’s to-do list is to walk the course so that a going update can be sent out to the racing press at 7am.
“After that, it’s a case of doing all the paperwork and being around should trainers wish to speak to me,” says Ed, who was appointed clerk of the course in September 2017. “I will then walk the course again with the chairman of the stewards two-and-a-half hours before racing for a final check.”
Ed describes his role on racedays as being the “main point of contact” for the racecourse.
“Hopefully, all being well, everything goes to plan and I can stand around in the parade ring and talk to people,” he says. “But obviously things can go wrong, including an injury to a horse, jockey or a problem with the track. I ensure we have medical provision, including four vets, three doctors, four ambulances and two nurses on site.”
Once racing kicks off for the day, Goodwood Racecourse comes alive with racegoers, all dressed for the sunshine despite the rain that has now set in.
With the starting stalls only a speck in the distance for racegoers, I grab the opportunity to join the starters, Sam Avis and James Stenning, to learn more about the protocol involved in getting races off smoothly and on time.
“We want to get the runners off as close to the start time as possible and, if we’re ahead of time, we will slow down the loading process — we want the horses to be in the stalls for as little time as possible,” explains Sam, as we stand at the 1m 1f start in persistent drizzle.
Before the horses arrive down at the start, the stalls handlers conduct a stalls test to ensure they are working correctly. Then, once the runners are circling, tack is checked before the loading process begins.
“Weatherbys email over any problematic horses that are on the list for being known to be difficult to load, so we are prepared for them,” adds Sam, a former jockey who previously worked for Godolphin for 12 years. “They will be loaded first, so other runners are not waiting around in the stalls for them.”
Once all the runners are in, Sam mounts the rostrum, while James stands behind the stalls and shouts across to Sam once all are loaded and happy — within a matter of moments the flag is raised, dropped and the runners are sent on their way.
With the countdown now in full swing until Goodwood’s showcase meeting of the year, held from 31 July to 4 August, the team behind the scenes is working tirelessly in preparation.
At this time of year, there is no match for Goodwood’s combination of beautiful scenery, historic gems, top-class racing and sartorial elegance, and with some added sunshine (hopefully), what more could a racegoer wish for?