Brilliant racing – terrible weather: Glorious Goodwood reflections, plus 151 photos from the week

The 2023 Qatar Goodwood Festival provided its usual five days of top-class flat racing on our doorstepm but two of those days were rather overshadowed by rain.

It cast a shadow over Wednesday’s Sussex Stakes – won in superb style by Paddington – while a soggy Saturday ended with the last three races being abandoned because of worsening conditions.

Director of racing Ed Arkell said it had been a week of many highs.

“Highlights have included the victory of Paddington, hugely impressive in the Qatar Sussex Stakes.

54 stunning photos of Ladies’ Day at Glorious Goodwood.

"The Qatar Nassau Stakes [won by Al Husn] is always fascinating, and it was great to see Highfield Princess back to winning ways in the King George Qatar Stakes.

"We have also seen some great two-year-old performances and it will be interesting to see how the winners of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Molecomb Stakes [Big Evs] and British EBF Alice Keppell Stakes [Flora Of Bermuda] go on – hopefully to bigger and better things.”

Reflecting on the rain-hit days, Arkell said: “We work very hard for 51 weeks of the year to ensure this particular meeting is where we want it.

"You want to run on decent ground that is fair to all, and not slogging through something that looks like a jump meeting in January.

"It’s disappointing and upsetting but, that said, we have seen some great racing.”

See a Glorious Goodwood picture special in today’s (Aug 10) Chichester Observer series papers.

James Crespi, Goodwood Racecourse’s Director, said: “Despite conditions resulting in us having to abandon racing early on the final day of the 2023 Qatar Goodwood Festival, we have enjoyed a brilliant week and seen some fantastic results.

“Paddington’s success in the Qatar Sussex Stakes was a highlight alongside two Royal winners for His Majesty The King and Her Majesty The Queen. Highfield Princess was a fantastic winner of the King George Qatar Stakes, making it a hugely successful week for Yorkshire trainer John Quinn, who has enjoyed three winners.

“Attendance has been really strong despite some testing weather conditions and we must extend our sincere thanks to the Qatar Racing and Equestrian Club, our title sponsor. Without their support alongside our other official partners, including Coral, this would not be possible.

“We now look forward to our August Bank Holiday racing fixture (Friday 25 – Sunday 27 August), which features a Friday evening of fireworks before a weekend of family fun to compliment the high-quality racing.”