2021 Goodwood Festival: A Recap of this Year’s Big Winners

The Goodwood Festival, aka ‘Glorious Goodwood’, is a real fan favourite in the Flat Racing calendar, and with the government lifting most of their coronavirus restrictions prior to the meeting, there was no limit on how many racegoers were allowed to ascend on the concourses of the scenic course — making it a very special meeting.

So, as the dust settles on the 2021 renewal of the festival, which took place between 27-31 July, let’s take a look back at this year’s big winners…

Goodwood Cup

The Group 1 Goodwood Cup topped day one’s card, and with the four-time winner, Stradivarius pulled from the race by trainer John Gosden due to soft ground, the door was open to a new winner for the first time in five years. And it was Trueshan who stormed to glory. With Hollie Doyle in the saddle, the Alan King-trained horse went on to win the two-mile race by almost four lengths. Away He Goes was second with Sir Ron Priestley back in third.

Sussex Stakes

The Sussex Stakes, contested over a mile, is the most prestigious race of the week, and Alcohol-Free romped to glory in this year’s renewal of the Group 1 outing. The Andrew Balding-trained horse was held up in midfield, but when edged slightly right by jockey Oisin Murphy, he was soon ridden into the lead. The 7/2 shot kept on well in the final 110 yards to pull almost two lengths clear of Poetic Flare — the ante-post favourite in the horse betting.

Nassau Stakes

Day three of Goodwood is best known as Ladies’ Day, and a fantastic mare stole the headlines with an impressive victory in the day’s feature race — the Group 1 Nassau Stakes. Aidan O’Brien’s Joan Of Arc, who was the market leader prior to the race, led for the most part. However, the three-year-old didn’t have enough in the tank to see the race out in the final furlong, and it was soon a three-horse race — with Zeyaadah and Lady Bowthorpe closing in. It was a hotly contested finish, but the latter, trained by William Jarvis, pulled away in the last 110 yards to win by a length and a half. Zeyaadah was second with Joan Of Arc dropping back to third.

King George Stakes

The King George Stakes, a five-furlong sprint, on the penultimate day of the meeting may not be a top-group race, but it’s certainly one of the most exciting! Star sprinter Battaash, who was aiming for a hattrick of victories in the Group 2 contest, was the outright favourite heading into the race. However, despite disputing the lead inside the furling furlong, the Charles Hills-trained horse quickly weakened and dropped down to seventh. Instead, it was the French-bred Suesa who found that extra gear and kicked on to win by three lengths. Dragon Symbol was back in second, with 22/1 shot Glass Slipper knabbing third.

Stewards’ Cup

The Stewards’ Cup, a Heritage Handicap, is the main talking point on the final day of Glorious Goodwood, and this year’s renewal of the six-furlong race had a thrilling finale. It was an incredibly tight finish, with plenty of horses in with a chance of winning in the final half a furlong. However, a late surge from 10/1 outsider Commanche Falls, who wouldn’t have been heavily backed in the horse racing tips, and jockey Connor Beasley fired the Michael Dods-trained horse into the lead right at the death, narrowly beating Gulliver by just a neck. Great Ambassador and William Buick weren’t even a length behind in third.

 

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