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The Glorious Goodwood festival is one of the highlights of the flat racing season and will take place between the 1st and 5th of August 2023. The five-day festival is the perfect mix of horse racing, hospitality, and entertainment. There is something for everyone across the five days of racing, including Ladies’ Day on the 3rd of August and the King George Stakes on the 4th of August.
Goodwood Cup Day
The highlight of the opening day at Glorious Goodwood is the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup. Forming part of the British Champions Series long-distance category, this is a Group 1 contest over two miles. Courage Mon Ami and Coltrane are two to watch as they finished in the top two of the Ascot Gold Cup, so confidence in the pair will be high. However, Gregory, an unbeaten three-year-old is expected to line-up in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup and it will be interesting to see which horse Frankie Dettori rides in the race. Unfortunately, last year’s winner Kyprios will not be defending his title as he has been struggling with injury.
Qatar Sussex Stakes
Moving to the second day of racing at Glorious Goodwood and the Qatar Sussex Stakes is the pick of the races. This is one of the highlights of the flat racing season and Paddington is the favourite to come out on top in 2023. Having won the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown Park, Paddington is the clear favourite with the bookmakers at the time of writing. For a longer odds punt, the pundits at onlinebookiesoffers.co.uk are tipping Nostrum to be the main challenger to Paddington but they would have to produce something special if Paddington is on form.
Qatar Nassau Stakes
Onto Ladies’ Day and the Group 1 Qatar Nassau Stakes is open to mares and fillies aged three and over. Nashwa is the defending champion, and she is expected to return in 2023. However, there are some exciting three-year-old fillies entering the Qatar Nassau Stakes this year, including Blue Rose Cen, who is expected to begin the race as the betting favourite. Blue Rose Cen won the Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp as a two-year-old and having made the trip to the UK from France, it means the stable mean business.
King George Qatar Stakes
On Friday, the big race of the day at Glorious Goodwood is the King George Qatar Stakes. This Group 2 sprinters race has been dominated by one horse in recent years and Battaash came out on top in each of the four King George races between 2017 and 2020. This year, Ladies Church appears to be one of the leading contenders and Twilight Calls, who finished second in last year’s King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot, could also challenge.
Coral Stewards’ Cup
On the final day of racing at the Goodwood festival the standout race is the Coral Stewards’ Cup. Having won the race for the second consecutive year in 2022, Commanche Falls will not be participating this year and that makes this an open race. Orazio, Tiber Flow, Saint Lawrence, Apollo One, and Albasheer could all challenge.
