As ever, the flat campaign continues to flash by in the blink of an eye. Saturday afternoon saw the latest major event draw to a close as the curtain came down on the 2024 edition of the Qatar Goodwood Festival.
With many of the stars from the Classics and Royal Ascot in action over the five days, the meeting offered a compelling mix of Group class contests and fiendishly competitive handicaps.
The headline events saw highlights aplenty, including Kyprios confirming himself as the king of the staying division in the Goodwood Cup, Notable Speech banishing his St. James’s Palace Stakes effort with a sizzling Sussex Stakes success, and Get It causing a huge shock in the Stewards Cup.
A meeting to remember for many and one to forget for others. Here, we look back at the trainers, jockeys, sires, and owners who fared best of all.
Top Trainer: Aidan O’Brien and Michael Appleby – 4 Wins
Charlie Johnston kept up the yards solid Goodwood record with a double at the meeting and was joined on two wins by Andrew Balding, Charlie Appleby, Ralph Beckett, and William Haggas.
John & Thady Gosden maintained their solid run of form by grabbing a treble, with the pick of those victories provided by the enigmatic Audience, who scorched to victory in the Lennox Stakes. However, three wins weren’t quite enough to claim the top spot.
No surprise to see the name of Aidan O’Brien at the top of the table, with the Ballydoyle maestro claiming three of the meetings Group class contests. Kyprios stole the show when stamping his class on the Goodwood Cup, whilst Jan Brueghel and Opera Singer ensured a positive week for the yard when enhancing their claims for the St. Leger and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, respectively.
Joining O’Brien at the summit was the rather more unlikely name of Michael Appleby. The brother of Godolphin number one, Charlie Appleby, had an electric week in the sprints, with all four of his wins coming in races run over 5f or 6f – Big Evs grabbing the headlines when gaining revenge on his King Charles III Stakes conqueror, Asfoora, in the King George Qatar Stakes.
Top Jockey: Ryan Moore & Oisin Murphy – 4 Wins
The under-pressure Kieran Shoemark picked up a double at the meeting, together with James Doyle, Jim Crowley, William Buick, and Joe Fanning, who produced one of the rides of the week aboard Align The Stars on the closing day.
Each grabbing a hattrick, Rossa Ryan and Tom Marquand enjoyed a productive meeting. Ryan reached that tally when deadheating in the penultimate event before winning the finale. Tom Marquand’s highlight came with a well-judged ride on Big Evs to cling on in the King George Qatar Stakes.
Four was again the magic number for the riders, with Ballydoyle number one Ryan Moore and former Champion Jockey Oisin Murphy showing their class on the big stage. Predictably, all four of Moore’s wins came for Aidan O’Brien. Murphy rode two winners for Andrew Balding and one apiece for David Menuisier and John & Thady Gosden – the highlight coming aboard Toimy Son in the Golden Mile.
Leading Sire: Blue Point, Dubawi, and Sea The Stars – 3 Wins
Having finished as the leading sire at the Newmarket July Festival, Dubawi continued his strong summer by tying for the top spot in Sussex. All three of the Godolphin flagbearer's wins came in contests at 1m+, with the clear standout being the back-to-form victory of Notable Speech in the Group 1 Sussex Stakes.
Blue Point came up just short at this meeting when second in the 2016 edition of the Qatar Richmond Stakes but fared better as a sire – Big Evs displayed all of his fathers speed in the King George Qatar Stakes, whilst Raqiya and Blue Prince showed 7f was no issue in the Visit Qatar Oak Tree Stakes and HKJC World Pool Handicap.
Sea The Stars skipped Goodwood during his majestic 2009 campaign but is no stranger to a winner here as a sire. In line with his racecourse performance, his most talented sons and daughters tend to be at their best at 1m2f+, and that trend continued here, with his three wins coming over 1m4f (twice) and 1m6f.
Special mentions go to Complexity (Black Forza in the Markel Richmond Stakes), American Pharoah (Dreamy in the Tatler British EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes), and Without Parole (Mr Chaplin in the Jaeger-Lecoultre Nursery Handicap), who all sired their first Qatar Goodwood Festival winners this year.
Leading Owner: Coolmore– 4 Wins
Rarely kept out of the winner's closure at the summer's biggest meetings, Coolmore topped the owner's table – picking up two of the three Group 1 events courtesy of Kyprios in the Goodwood Cup and Opera Singer in the Nassau Stakes.
The familiar silks of Godolphin, Juddmonte, and Shadwell picked up doubles, as did the less heralded RP Racing Ltd. However, it was the rising force Wathnan Racing who finished in second spot, courtesy of wins by French Duke, Haunted Dream and Artagnan.
Bookies Hold the Edge in Battle with Punters
Given the competitiveness of the racing, a tally of 11 winning favourites or joint favourites from 37 races was pretty solid. However, it wasn’t enough to secure a profit for supporters of the market leader, with a £1 level stakes punt on the favourite returning a loss of £5.10.
Overall, 27 of 37 winners returned a single-figure SP, five were between 10/1 and 16/1, with the remaining five 20/1 or bigger. The biggest shocks came in back-to-back events on the final day, courtesy of the 40/1 wins of Get It in the Stewards Cup and Witness Stand in the Whispering Angel Handicap.
Falling in love with racing at a young age, Paul’s passion for sports and betting took him to Salford University, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics with Gambling Studies. Having spent ten years in the employment of a leading bookmaker, Paul opted to go it alone and pursue his dream job as a freelance writer.
Paul Harrison
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