Race Changes at the Qatar Goodwood Festival

We are pleased to add a new race to our 2019 calendar – a five-furlong conditions stakes for two-year-old fillies to be held on the Wednesday of the Qatar Goodwood Festival (31 July 2019), supporting the Sussex Stakes card.

The addition of the new fillies’ race for two-year-olds is aimed at filling the void in the season between the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot in June and the St Hughs Stakes at Newbury in late August. 

In 2017 we were delighted to be able to upgrade the Goodwood Cup to Group 1 status, which has seen the race go from strength-to-strength as well as moving the Nassau Stakes from its customary slot on the Saturday to the Thursday, coinciding with Ladies’ Day.

In 2018 the improvements continued, with the Lillie Langtry being upgraded from a Group 3 to a Group 2, a race subsequently won by Pilaster in its first year as a Group 2. Further changes to the Lillie Langtry in 2019 will see the race move to the Saturday of the five-day meeting and will become the feature race on the card.

The final change to this year’s programme will see the Gordon Stakes swap places with the Lillie Langtry and move to the Thursday. The Gordon Stakes has a particularly strong heritage, being won in past years by the likes of globe-trotting superstar Highland Reel, Group 1 winner Ulysses and last year’s Melbourne Cup winner and course record holder, Cross Counter. The race looks set to add another layer of quality to Thursday’s card. 

We are also hopeful that this year’s meeting will have an influx of international participants, with runners from a number of countries already expressing an interest.

Tickets are now on sale for the Qatar Goodwood Festival at Early-Bird prices so be sure to book yours to secure your opportunity to see some of these exciting new race changes.

Qatar Goodwood Festival