Ed Arkell previews Glorious Goodwood 2023

SussexWorld

Ed Arkell previews Glorious Goodwood 2023 - Goodwood's director of racing and clerk of the course says this year's Qatar Goodwood Festival is on track to be a fantastic week of top-class flat racing

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00:00 familiar sight of Goodwood Racecourse where in a couple of weeks time Glorious Goodwood

00:07 will be with us and this man will be central to what's happening, Ed Arkall, Clerk of the

00:14 Course and Director of Racing. It's nearly upon us already, it seems impossible doesn't

00:20 it but it is nearly upon us. It's very quick, it's come round very very quick this year,

00:24 I know we always say that but it does seem to come particularly quick this year so very

00:28 much looking forward to it. And plans all coming together for it? Yep, really good,

00:32 we're very pleased with where we are, the weather has really helped us, the track as

00:36 you can see is looking in really really good condition, great that that's all been natural

00:40 rainfall rather than us having to water it. And the season so far, you know we're half

00:44 way through it now, but the season so far been good? Yep, really good, seen some really

00:48 nice horses, some great Goodwood form during Royal Ascot, we had some really good racing,

00:53 as I said seen some lovely horses so that has to be good for the rest of the season.

00:58 And how has the weather been for you because we've had a very hot and dry spell and then

01:03 we've had some wetter spells as well, has that been a good mixture? Yes and no, I think

01:08 we struggled at the beginning of the year, the track didn't really come on as fast as

01:12 we'd have liked it to, especially towards the end of May and then that hot spell, it

01:18 was what it was, it was hard work for the team with all the watering but frankly I think

01:22 we'd rather have had it then than having it now so that was alright, I'm very pleased

01:27 we've got the rain at the moment and then we'll have to see what the next few days bring,

01:31 forecast looks unsettled, we'd love a bit more rain, we don't want too much rain, as

01:34 usual never quite happy. I was going to say the course looks very good, it looks very

01:37 green at the moment so you just need to, you want to keep it looking like this and you're

01:42 on course? Yeah it wants to come on a little bit more, it had its last dose of fertiliser

01:46 on it on Wednesday so we're just waiting to get washed in and on we go from there so

01:53 it's got a few more days to come on and cut a couple more times and away we go. And if

01:57 we can look in a little bit more detail about some of the races that we're in for during

02:01 the week, obviously your three group ones, let's start with those and on the opening

02:04 day the Goodwood Cup looks like being a very good renewal doesn't it? Yeah it does, good

02:10 strength and depth, still lots of horses in, you'd say John Goulston's probably got the

02:15 upper hand with his two horses, he's a Gold Cup winner and he's Queen's Vase winner, so

02:22 he'd probably have the whip hand, I doubt both of them will run so we'll have to see

02:26 what he ends up sending to us. And people like to see a sort of rerun sometimes of the

02:32 Ascot Gold Cup and you've got a fair number of horses that did well in that hopefully

02:37 coming here. Yeah exactly, I think that'll be really exciting and as you say it's nice

02:41 to see the race rerun, see that it wasn't a fluke. Shame we haven't got Kit Pryor's

02:45 last year's winner, he was injured earlier in the year but looks on course to make a

02:49 comeback in the autumn, sadly we won't see him here. Wednesday of course is the showpiece

02:55 of the week, the Qatar Sussex Stakes, again it looks like being a very good race from

03:01 what you know so far. Yeah it does, as we know the older milers aren't brilliant, in

03:06 spite of John Goldstone's potential coming here it looks like the best of the older horses.

03:11 Paddington, trained by Aidan O'Brien, who won the Irish Guineas and then the St James's

03:16 Palace and the Eclipse, looks to be the red hot favourite, I would say it would take some

03:21 beating and I'm sure Godolphin will run one and there'll be a couple of others there from

03:27 the St James's Palace and also we've got a French challenger as well, Factor Cheval

03:31 coming over so we'll see what he does. And Thursday is one of your favourites of the

03:36 week, that's all. It is indeed. How's that looking? Yeah again, looks like a really really

03:41 strong race, we've got the French horse that won both the French Slows and Guineas and

03:45 Oaks, Blue Rose Sen, looks like a red hot favourite, equally he's going to run into

03:51 last year's winner Nashua who won over a mile of Falmer Stakes at July meeting at Newmarket

03:57 a couple of weeks ago. So yeah, looks to be a really really hot renewal and as you know

04:02 I think it's a great race, I think it's an underrated race so I think we should see some

04:06 really exciting racing. It does always seem on Ladies Day to throw up a story doesn't

04:10 it? Yeah. Sometimes unexpectedly. Yeah exactly and you know we always see good fillies in

04:15 there, always see good fillies winning so fingers crossed again. And a word about the

04:19 Group 2's, you've got the Lennox Stakes and the King George among the week's highlights,

04:24 you've had entries for those? Yeah Lennox is looking good, strong, the King George looks

04:30 like it could be a very good race again, Highfield Princess looks on course to come here before

04:35 possibly going back to York. Good entries, strong entries and plenty of them so yeah,

04:40 exciting. Good and from what you've said it does feel that there's a bit of an international

04:44 flavour to the week which is something you've worked hard to bring here. Yeah we have, it's

04:49 slightly fallen by the wayside recently, unfortunately a Japanese horse went lame about two months

04:55 ago, no a month ago which was a real shame because they were on course and would have

04:59 had a really good chance of running well in the Sussex Stakes. No Australians this year,

05:04 they've all gone home having been beaten at Royal Ascot but hopefully we've got a horse

05:08 from the Czech Republic, Pontos coming for the King George, we've got some Norwegian

05:13 horses by the looks of things for the end of the week and those always well supported

05:17 from France and Ireland. Great and just finally still plenty of time for people to buy tickets

05:22 and get involved. Yeah absolutely, selling fairly fast but there's still time to buy

05:27 tickets, still availability and come and enjoy a fantastic day's racing. We look forward

05:32 to the weekend, good luck with the rest of the preparations. Thanks.

05:35 you

05:36 you

05:38 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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