Glorious Goodwood garden party
Image: Goodwood
Adam Edwards:
Edward VII described Glorious Goodwood as “a garden party with racing tacked on". It was, the King felt, such a verdant beano that in 1906, instead of turning up at the races in the traditional tails and topper, he dressed in a linen suit and a Panama hat. Goodwood has been an unbuttoned Royal Ascot ever since.Those who think fauna is more important than flora will tell you the end-of-July meeting at Goodwood is one of the pinnacles of the English flat-racing season. The finest thoroughbreds with the fastest turn of foot compete against each other in some of the best races in the world.
. . . the racecourse is set on a spur of the Sussex Downs overlooking, in one direction, the Channel and the Isle of Wight, and in the other Chichester Cathedral. To its north are cornfields, forests and undulating hills, while at its core are the racegoers. . ."
At its core are the horses.