See How They Run

If, as the saying goes, joy shared is joy doubled, then how much joy is created when 140 people are sharing it? Ask anyone involved with the Goodwood Racehorse Owners’ Group and they will tell you plainly, sincerely, almost evangelically, about the joys of membership. Of course they all call it GROG – intoxicating stuff, for sure.

It hardly needs saying that racehorse ownership can be a perilous enterprise, a path paved with pitfalls, fraught with financial uncertainty. After all, everyone knows that the surest way to end up with a small fortune from racing is to start with a vast one. Three cheers for GROG, then, for it bucks the trend, placing the emphasis not on fortunes won or lost but on the good fortune of finding like-minded souls with whom to share the transcendent ups and the inevitable downs of racehorse ownership.

“If you enjoy racing, if you want to dip your toe into it at a reasonable level and learn a bit on the way, there isn’t a better syndicate than ours,” says Gail Brown, GROG’s longserving racing manager. Brown might be partial, but her opinion is convincingly supported by facts and borne out by assurances from delighted syndicate members, many of them veterans of multiple campaigns.

“It provides an insight into the other side of racing that you wouldn’t get on your own,” enthuses David Fisher, a GROG member for the past eight years. “It’s a very good introduction to the wider racing scene.”

Heads are nodded, enthusiastic affirmation at the ready. “It’s a great way to get inside racing,” says Colin Bloomfield, who joined the first iteration of the syndicate in 1994 and has been ever-present since. “We’re spoilt – you meet wonderful people, enjoy first-class facilities. Of course, seeing your horse run is the main reason for joining, but there are so many other benefits.”

Syndicate members buy into a two-year scheme, whereby one horse is purchased from the sales each year by Brown and bloodstock agent Richard Frisby and raced as a two-year-old and a three-year-old, before going back to the sale-ring to end the association. This means that at any given time GROG has two horses racing in its distinctive yellow and red silks, all of them bearing the “Goodwood” prefix, and members can own a part of one horse or both.

Numbers are limited to 140 for each two-year scheme, and the cost for joining is £1,500. If that figure sounds appealing, here are some others that are equally impressive: “We’ve had 17 individual winners from 25 runners,” says Brown. “I’m proud of that, considering that we buy on a budget. About £50,000 would be the ceiling, but on that you can buy a bit of a pedigree, a good sireline or damline. You can’t get everything but you can buy yourself a chance. And every year, from every scheme, there’s been money in the pot to be returned to members. They’ve always enjoyed a return on their investment.”

Syndicate racehorse ownership is now as common as daisies; practically every third horse is owned by a small convocation of pals, work colleagues, enthusiasts. Most are smaller than GROG, several are much larger, but the same principle applies. However, when GROG started back in the mid-1990s it was a pioneering move, a watershed moment. Goodwood was the first to link a syndicate to a racecourse, with all the ancillary benefits to its members that such a connection brings.

“It was the idea of the Duke of Richmond and racecourse manager Rod Fabricius,” says Brown. “Their approach was that racing should be for everyone, fully inclusive. They would buy a horse, then Goodwood board-member John Dunlop would train it, and anyone who wanted to could buy into the scheme.”

The original altruistic impulse behind the formation of GROG lives on in the Duke’s grandson, Lord William Gordon Lennox, 26, who took on the role of the group’s patron when his grandfather died in 2017. His passion for racing was instilled in him by his grandfather – “My brothers are obsessed with fast cars, but for me it’s horses,” – and he views GROG with the same clarity of intention. “GROG was designed to be accessible; the whole point was not to make it too expensive or too exclusive for potential members,” he says. “For my grandfather, it was all about building a local community in racing, so people could buy a very small part of a horse and still know all the thrills of ownership. That remains the idea behind it now. GROG is very important to Goodwood. There’s a real sense of connection, of affinity between the racecourse and the members. That’s one of the best things about the syndicate – and I’m delighted to be involved with it.”

Goodwood Rocket was GROG’s first horse and was placed but never won. The following year, however, Goodwood Lass made the breakthrough by winning twice. After that, it was not exactly a deluge but certainly a steady stream of success. The syndicate’s financial flagship horse is probably Goodwood Mirage, who cost 27,000 guineas as a yearling and won twice before being sold for a princely 380,000gns to go hurdling, ensuring a sizeable end-of-year dividend for his owners – though, of course, each member has his or her personal favourite.

“Goodwood Blizzard,” says Bloomfield. “She won at Ascot in 1999, romped in by five lengths. That was a great day.”

That wasn’t the only impact Goodwood Blizzard made on her owners, for she was a pioneer in her own right. When she ran in the prestigious Premio Dormello at San Siro racecourse in Milan, she was accompanied by a partisan gang of GROG members on the first overseas trip organised for the syndicate by Brown.

“She was our first runner abroad, and there must have been around 30 of us there to watch her,” says Brown. “The Duke came too – he was very excited. It was such a jolly day, everyone had such a thrill. She finished second, beaten only by a head, but that didn’t spoil the day. Everyone enjoyed it so much that trips abroad and racing holidays became an integral part of the GROG experience.”

“It’s always a thrill when a GROG horse wins or even gets placed in a competitive race at a top track,” adds the syndicate’s chairman, Ian Barlow. “But even more fun is to see our Groggers really enjoying themselves… particularly the trips away, visiting other racecourses, yards and studs, both in the UK and much further afield.”

Racing holidays are an extra cost on top of membership, but it’s very much a case of “join GROG and see the world”. That has been the mantra for Fisher, who reels off a list of exotic destinations that would do credit to Alan Whicker. “Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Mauritius, Deauville, Berlin, Copenhagen, Hong Kong, Dubai,” he says proudly. “The holidays are based around going to the local racecourse, of course, but everyone can be as organised or as relaxed as they want to be. It’s a group of like-minded people with the shared experience of the syndicate to unite them. And Goodwood has a very good name abroad – it opens doors. You can’t just go to Ballydoyle and Coolmore, but the link with Goodwood gives you access.”

Goodwood itself is undoubtedly the jewel in the GROG crown. Not only is it universally acclaimed as one of the two or three most beautiful racecourses in the world, but it is also a big-league racecourse, loaded with prestige and panache.

“The ‘wow factor’ of Goodwood is huge,” says Brown. “Being an owner at Goodwood – albeit with a small share but still very much part of it – standing overlooking the Downs, cheering on your horse; it makes for a very special day. There’s a kudos about Goodwood that resonates within the wider racing world, and on the home front Goodwood does everything very well: a lovely brochure, a free box at the races, an annual reception and parties at Goodwood House, a beautiful presentation box with each individual metal syndicate badge – all the little things that matter.

“I’ve heard GROG described as ‘the John Lewis of racing partnerships’,” adds Brown. “The comfort and security of the Goodwood brand always makes people feel safe.”

All – asmall word that embraces a large portfolio, from buying the horses to liaising between trainer and owners, organising the social calendar and plenty more – is ably overseen by Brown, who has been involved in racing since fibbing about her age (“I said I was 14 but I was really 12”) to be able to ride out at weekends for John Dunlop at the storied Castle Stables in Arundel. The patrician, gentlemanly Dunlop, one of the all-time great British trainers, played a central role for the nascent GROG and on his retirement the baton was passed to William Knight, who trained at nearby Angmering, with Richard Hughes and Ralph Beckett also briefly on GROG’s teamsheet.

Knight’s recent move to Newmarket led to another change: “Most of the members are locally based and they wanted to maintain a local trainer,” adds Brown. The chosen man was David Menuisier, an expatriate Frenchman who has swiftly established himself at Coombelands Stables in Pulborough. Another of Brown’s many duties is to organise stable visits for members, and Menuisier enjoys them as much as his owners do.

“It’s a lot of fun, a fantastic atmosphere. They have two visits a year and I love those days,” he says. “They are given breakfast or lunch, and they see the horses on the gallops and we talk about them. I look forward to the visits. I like the people – they have no great expectations for their horses but they enjoy the journey.”

This year GROG has the three-year-old filly Goodwood Vision and the two-year-old colt Goodwood Odyssey to look forward to, and Menuisier is upbeat about their prospects.

“Vision ran three times last year, has had a nice break, and I’m very pleased with her physical development. I think she’ll certainly benefit from the softer ground in spring and could be out early on, April time. Odyssey will be for later in the year. We will take our time with him because he’ll be more of a three-year-old than a two-year-old, but he seems a straightforward individual and comes from a good nursery at Meon Valley. Hopefully the trainer will be good enough to get the best out of him!”

Brown smiles. “It’s as much about the social side as the results on the track,” she says. “The vast majority of horses never win, so if ours do then we’re doing okay. And as you’ve seen, ours do win. More than that, though, the thing I’m most proud of is that a lot of people become members of GROG without having much in-depth knowledge of racing or horses. Some of them do, of course, but plenty don’t. Yet quite a few of those novices have gone on to own horses in their own right. They had a great time with us and it gave them the confidence to feel that they weren’t complete amateurs. That, most of all, has been really lovely. To me, it means we’re doing it right.”

All that shared joy spreads out, creating more joy. “I would recommend it to anyone,” says Fisher. Bloomfield, whose membership of GROG once led to him sharing a flight and a limousine with the great champion jockey Pat Eddery, thinks alike: “I would recommend it, too. It’s not about the money, it’s about the involvement and the environment. It’s an excellent way to participate in ownership. My late father Henry bought me a share as a Christmas present all those years ago, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it. It’s been the gift that has kept on giving.”

Shares in Goodwood Odyssey are available at £1,500 until April 30 (subject to availability). Please contact Goodwood Racecourse on 01243 755029 to request an application form.