All eyes will be on Glorious Goodwood when the world-famous horse racing festival gets underway on Tuesday, July 27. This year's edition of the West Sussex meeting serves up the possibility of some real history-making moments across the five days.
Goodwood has been hosting its summer extravaganza since 1802. During that time, it has provided racegoers with many afternoons of racing magic – and this year should be no exception. Betting on Glorious Goodwood is already underway with many race markets now open including those for the festival's three Group 1 flat races: the Sussex Stakes, Goodwood Cup and Nassau Stakes.
Stradivarius Aiming for Win No. 5
Stradivarius made history in last year's Goodwood Cup, becoming the first horse to win the event four times. This year, he has the chance to go one better by making it five wins in a row. Frankie Dettori could also become the first jockey to win the race six times. The Italian first won the Cup back in 1999 aboard Kayf Tara and also rode Stradivarius on his last two wins. He is currently level on five wins with five other jockeys including Lester Piggott and Pat Eddery. Stradivarius is the odds-on favourite at 4/5 ahead of Spanish Mission at 4/1.
Stradivarius has won the Goodwood Cup for a record fourth time under jockey Frankie Dettori
👉 https://t.co/Fd0zgQqJWc pic.twitter.com/vPEcmU5CHx— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 28, 2020
Battaash Eyeing King George Dominance
The Group 2 King George Stakes also saw history made two years ago when Battaash won the race for an unprecedented third time. He returned last year to make it four in a row and also broke the course record. He will be gunning for a fifth-straight win this time around. The seven-year-old is already assured of going down in history but winning the event for a fifth time would be the stuff of legends.
BOX OFFICE!
Blink and you'll miss him! History is made as super-sprinter Battaash smashes the course record winning a fourth King George @Q_REC Stakes under Jim Crowley for trainer Charlie Hills#QatarGoodwoodFestival #TheGloriousFive pic.twitter.com/xqgDAFPWI7
— Goodwood Racecourse (@Goodwood_Races) July 31, 2020
A win for Battaash would also write Charles Hill's name into the record books as the leading trainer. He is currently level with Paddy Prendergast and Jack Jarvis. However, Jim Crowley would still have a way to go to match jockey Lester Piggott's record of nine wins in this event. Piggott's wins spanned 36 years (1958-1984) and were achieved on eight different horses. Battaash is currently priced at 6/4 with the closest challenge expected to come from Dragon Symbol and Winter Power, who are both priced at 5/1.
Poetic Flare Odds-on for the Sussex
Another key race at this year's Goodwood is the Group 1 Sussex Stakes which was famously won by Frankel in 2011 and 2012. Poetic Flare has been installed as the odds-on favourite at 4/6 following the withdrawal of the highly-rated Palace Pier due to a blood disorder. The news came as a blow for racing fans who were looking forward to a showdown between the two. Poetic Flare will be aiming to follow up on his recent success in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot success with another Group 1 victory.
Goodwood has always been one of the highlights of the summer sporting schedule but it has really exploded into a cauldron of drama over the last couple of years, and this year's festival looks set to continue that trend.
