2018 Qatar Goodwood Festival

One of the sporting occasions of the summer (The 2018 Qatar Goodwood Festival) is nearly upon us where the garden party atmosphere will be in full swing at the amazing setting which is Goodwood racecourse.

Goodwood is infamous for many things sporting and not only the horse racing. There is also the Goodwood estate which is steeped in history.

Below we have catered for everybody. You’ll find a list of great things to do, we have added a section for the ladies on fashion and for you hard core racing fans, you can find our betting tips and analysis at the bottom of the blog post.

The Goodwood Estate – A brief history

They have over 300 years of varied and colorful history. below is the very short version but will give you some insight into the estate.

Goodwood has been nurtured over many generations, by the hobbies and passions of the family and their friends. The first Duke of Richmond, son of King Charles ll, chose Goodwood as his country retreat and bought the original Jacobean house in 1697.

Since then, there have been nine successive Dukes, and for over two centuries guests have been coming to Goodwood to enjoy horse racing, motor racing, golf, flying, shooting and cricket, all of which have been introduced over time by enthusiastic family members of the Richmond clan.

One of the main races of the Goodwood festival is “The Richmond Stakes” a legacy to the family who have built up this sporting dynasty that everybody enjoys today.

The modernisation of the Estate was inspired by the Duke of Richmond (the 10th Duke). The Estate has been further developed by his son and heir, Charles Richmond, the 11th Duke, to meet the challenges of the modern 21st century consumer: reviving the original motor racing events, investing in a re-modelling and revamp of the original downland golf betting course, the organic farm, the stunning Goodwood Hotel, and restoring Goodwood House to its former regency glory. Creating the Festival of Speed and the Goodwood Revival, the young Duke has put the Goodwood estate firmly on the international calendar as one of the great centres of sport and entertainment in the world.

This drive and ambition has led to an amazing upturn in fortunes for the area as it attracts tourists from all over the world and has created hundreds of new jobs.

The Qatar Goodwood Festival – 5 things to do before and after racing

Before racing

1. The beauty of Goodwood has to be seen and the best way to do that is an early morning stroll or cycle ride around the grounds. Start your day with a breakfast in the hotel restaurant followed by an easy and relaxing look at the estate.

2. If you are going to be visiting the Qatar Goodwood Festival then for both ladies and gentlemen, you may want to take a look at Goodwood’s superb guide on “The Goodwood Look”

This year sees a great guide to help you look your best at the track, after all, Goodwood is a garden party where dressing up is all part of the fun.

3. There is something for everyone to do prior to a days racing at the festival. For gents, you can get a fourball together and play the famous Downs course. This picturesque golf course  in West Sussex is ranked in Golf World Magazine’s Top 100 English Courses and has been host to the English PGA Championship.

At 7134 yards “off the whites” it is a monster golf course that has amazing views and provides a real test of any golfer.

Have a round of 9 or 18 holes before the racing kicks off in the afternoon.

4. For the ladies there is nothing better than getting pampered in the famous spa and wellness centre. The Waterbeach has every kind of treatment, using luxurious products from Elemis and Elemental Herbology to help Members, guests and visitors to unwind, rejuvenate or revitalise. using luxurious products from Elemis and Elemental Herbology to help Members, guests and visitors to unwind, rejuvenate or revitalise.

Here are just some of the treatments you can pamper yourself with:

Facials and body treatments, including massage, waxing, volcanic hot basalt stone massage, Indian head massage, and reflexology all personalised specifically to you to ensure your body and skin feel cosseted and pampered.

5. For the really daring guest, you can try out and learn how to fly. Goodwood has a very strong history from the war and you can enjoy the thrills of a 45 or 60 minute trial flying lesson in an ultra modern Cessna aircraft. You’ll take to the skies with one of their highly experienced instructors who will guide you through the basics of flying, whilst soaring over the stunning Sussex countryside. Even on your first lesson you will take the controls of the aircraft.

After racing and other things to do

1. Enjoy a sumptuous meal at the renowned Farmer, Butcher, Chef. This is their exciting restaurant located just yards from Home Farm. The restaurant uses only produce from the farm. Goodwood has been farmed by the Richmond family for over three hundred years and is one of the only self-sustaining organic farms in Europe. These organic principles enable our farmer to produce the best-tasting beef, pork and lamb, all of which are reared right on the open plains and downs of Sussex. As they say…..”Our customers will travel farther than their food”

2. Visit the relaxing Waterbeach Spa. Located in The Goodwood Hotel, the Health Club and Waterbeach Spa have state-of-the-art exercise equipment for the avid gym and fitness fanatic, including a comprehensive programme of fitness classes and personal trainers to help you achieve your personal goals and help you build a personalised fitness plan.

3. Check out one of the many bars in and around the Goodwood Estate. There is something for everybody from traditional pub style venues where you can try the Goodwood organic lager or real ale. to a more romantic cocktail bar setting. A great way to unwind after a busy day enjoying your Goodwood experience.

4. Visit the Tinwood Estate Vineyard which is just one and a half miles from the Goodwood Estate. You can take a fun wine tasting tour, enjoying the sun and a glass of bubbles after seeing the vines while walking around the vineyard.

Daily tours are available at 3pm.

The Vineyard Tour & Wine Tasting is £18 per person and takes 1.5 hours. This includes 3 glasses of sparkling wine and a tour around the estate, after the tour you are welcome to stay for an extra glass or a cold bottle of wine of your choice.

5. Take in a show at the ultra modern Chichester Festival Theatre. One of the shows playing during the Qatar Goodwood Festival is “Me And My Girl”

The scene is set at Hareford Hall in Hampshire, suspense is in the air. The family solicitor has found the long-lost heir to the Hareford title and riches. But, to everyone’s horror, he’s a Cockney barrow boy called Bill Snibson. As the Duchess determinedly sets out to transform him into a true gentleman, Bill’s sweetheart Sally wonders how she fits in to his new life. Before too long, Bill has to answer some soul-searching questions about who he really is.

A wonderful way to spend an evening after an exciting days racing.

2018 Qatar Goodwood Festival – Betting Analysis and Tips

The Goodwood Festival, more commonly known as “Glorious Goodwood” is one of the most eagerly awaited meetings of the year with top class Group racing mixed in with devilishly difficult big field handicaps. There is something for every horse racing punter and as the event runs over five days it means a softly softly catchy monkey approach to your betting.

There are lots of racing newcomers at the meeting and if you are a newbie then a good fun bet to have is a placepot where you have to pick one horse to be placed in each of the first six races.

You will be able to go to any “Tote” betting desk and they will be sure to help you out.

For the more experienced punter we will be posting our tips and selections here on this blog post each day. Hopefully we can point you in the way of a couple of winners like our 20/1 winner Pretty Pollyanna at the recent Newmarket July Meeting.

Tips for Day 1 of the 2018 Qatar Goodwood Festival.

The highlight of Day 1 is the Qatar Goodwood Cup and in this race we have a short price favorite in Ascot Gold Cup score Stradivarius who is odds-on at a price of 4/7 so not really a betting heat. His nearest challengers are likely to be Torcedor whom he beat at Royal Ascot and the Aiden O’Brien trained Idaho.

Looking further into the card our first selection comes in the 2.25 and the selection is JUNIUS BRUTUS EW at 10/1. This one had it’s first run in England at Royal Ascot when finishing 6th of 28 in the Windsor Castle Stakes and has recently switched stables to Ralph Beckett. Was staying on all the time in that race and looks sure to appreciate the seven furlong trip.

Our second selection of the day comes in the 4.10 race and is the aptly named SUSSEX SOLO EW at 16/1. Ran a very nice race at Windsor on introduction and then returned to that venue to run an even better race when not getting a clear run and staying on strongly in the final furlong. Looks sure to improve further and would be a lovely story for one of the smaller yards.

Enjoy the first day and make surer to come back to check out Wednesday’s selections.

Tips for Day 2 of the 2018 Qatar Goodwood Festival

Our first selection is in the 1.50 race on day two and we are going for a win bet on LIL ROCKERFELLER 7/2 WIN. Better known for his exploits over hurdles this game and consistent horse is probably the only horse in the field that looks sure to stay this marathon trip of two and a half miles.

Has kept on improving over hurdles and off a mark of 82 this looks to be a really attractive handicap mark.

Our second selection on day two is in the 5.55 race and we are going for last years winner, TRUTH OR DARE 20/1 EW. Has been in and out this season in terms of its form but did not run too badly last time and has now dropped to a much more suitable handicap mark of 85.

Sure to enjoy then return to this track, and although having a tendency to be slow away, will enjoy the fast pace and will be looking to pick off rivals late on.

Tips for Day 3 of the 2018 Qatar Goodwood Festival

Our first selection on Day 3 of the Qatar Goodwood Festival comes in the 3.35 race and the selection is BILLESDON BROOK to win at 8/1.

Was a great winner of the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket before running another very solid race at Royal Ascot to finish 4th behind the subsequent Newmarket winner Alpha Centauri. The step up in trip looks a real positive and we expect her to show her class.

Our second selection comes in the Nursery at 4.10 and here we are siding withe the Seamus Durack trained HIERONYMUS at 16/1 EW.

Has had three qualifying runs and comes here off the back of its best effort yet last time at Ascot. That improved run also came when stepped up in trip to today’s trip. Looks sure to give us an excellent run for our money.

Tips for Day 4 of the 2018 Qatar Goodwood Festival

Today’s main race is the Qatar King George Stakes which is off at 3.35 and features an odds on (8/11) favorite in Battash. This one went off like a scolded cat last time but did not quite get home on that stiffer track. It is very difficult to see the horse being beaten but we will be looking at some bigger priced selections as we have on the first three days.

Our first selection comes in the Unibet Golden Mile and here we like the look of BORDERFORCE at 66/1 EW.

Has only had the one run for trainer Karl Burke since coming from France, and although down the field at Newmarket, was not totally disgraced. Has had time to settle into new surroundings now and Gerard Mosse is an intriguing jockey booking. Make sure to check out Skybet who are paying out six places on the race.

Our second selection today is taking part in the 4.10 race where Godolphin’s Leading Spirit is a strong favorite.

Our selection however, is DON ARMADO at 14/1 EW. Ran well enough on its penultimate start when finishing 8th of the 9 runners but was not beaten far and that was in a Class 2 event. Came out next time and won very impressively from a mark of 78. Looks to be improving.

Tips for Day 5 of the 2018 Qatar Goodwood Festival

So it is the last day of Glorious Goodwood and the 2018 Qatar Goodwood Festival and today see the traditional cavalry charge which is The Stewards Cup and we also have the consolation race for horses that did not make it into the main event.

On the final day we have 3 selections for you and hopefully we can keep up the good work with another winner.

Our first selection comes in the first race at 1.50 and this is COUNT OTTO at 25/1 EW. All of this ones best form has been on the all weather but has some decent performances on turf and was a little unlucky here on Thursday. Looks sure to enjoy this step up in trip and still not totally exposed. Also be aware that Skybet are paying 7 places on this race, with other big bookies like Bet365 and Paddy Power paying 5 places.

Our second selection is in The Stewards Cup at 3.40 and the one we like is MARIE OF LYON at 40/1 EW. The form figures do not look all that great at first glance, but this one has been running in much stronger grade than this and has that touch of class. Again watch out for place odds with Skybet once again going 7 places and Ladbrokes, Paddy Power and Corals paying 6 places.

Our third and final selection of the day is in the 4.15 and is the aptly named DUKE OF HAZZARD at 100/30 WIN. Has already had four runs without winning, but that does not tell the full story. has achieved a rating of 95 in those runs and although there are some well bred newcomers in the race, the price is huge value and this horse should be very difficult to beat.

We hope you have enjoyed our full week coverage of the Qatar Goodwood Festival and our Goodwood Festival betting tips and hope you enjoy today’s racing.