Shot! Glorious Goodwood 2023
This year’s Qatar Goodwood Festival lacked much of the glitz and glamour usually associated with one of the season’s most fashionable sporting events
This was my first time attending the fourth day of Glorious Goodwood. Usually I go on the Thursday, Ladies’ Day, the glamour day of the Qatar Goodwood Festival, one of the highlights of the English racing calendar, and traditionally one of the most fashionable sporting events held in Sussex.
For reasons unknown, this year the Magnolia Cup, the ladies’ charity race, was moved from the Thursday to the Friday, a day which fashion-conscious racegoers were encouraged to wear the light blue and white colours of L’Ormarins — a wine estate in South Africa.
Not for the first time, unseasonal weather meant Glorious Goodwood failed to live up to its name and whilst not as wet or windy as the previous day, Friday was stubbornly overcast. With conditions having an adverse effect on keeping large brimmed hats on one’s head, there was noticeably fewer women sporting them than one sees on Ladies’ Day.
To be sure, there was a lot less glamour on display and if there were any A-listers in the crowd, or in the parade ring, they kept the lowest of profiles. As a consequence, it made the day a lot more ordinary than I’m used to. And that’s something I think Goodwood should be concerned about. Why? It is, I’d suggest, the thin end of the wedge, a gradual blandifying of what made Glorious Goodwood stand out from the vast majority of horseracing events in the country.
Given how successful it is in putting on brilliant events like the Festival of Speed and Revival, I’m surprised Goodwood has allowed its prime equine meeting to lose much of its cachet. One of the problems is that with Ladies’ Day being the glamour day, the other four lack any real identity. One solution would be to ‘theme’ at least one of them, for example, borrowing from Revival and stepping back in time. I’m sure an Edwardian day or a 1960’s recreation, would help bring back some of the glamour as would, have many of the attendees dressing up in period costume like they do at Revival.
That of course is just a thought, the reality of things is that 2023 felt quite ordinary, when it should have been quite special. Yes, the jockeys taking part in the Magnolia Cup charity race wore some splendid fashion-first silks, and complimentary strawberries and cream were still offered at 3:45. And yes, quite a few punters made the effort to dress to impress, with many of the men wearing blazers and Panamas and the women sporting pillboxes and fascinators.
But noticeably absent were the traditional boutonnieres, the celebrity prize-givers (Tom Cruise, no less, presented the awards in 2014) and the aforementioned slebs who, not that long ago, were mingling with Royalty in the parade ring.) Of course Goodwood’s owner, the Duke of Richmond was there with his wife and eldest son, Lord March, but signs of glamour were few and far between.
Talking of signs, most of them pointed to the multitude of bars and catering concessions, which seem to be more and more prevalent each year. By my reckoning, there were over twenty of them this year. Apart from the betting, it seems the main goal at Goodwood Racecourse is getting punters to part with as much as possible on F and B.
Even so, with numerous touts prowling the entrance looking to ‘buy or sell’ there’s no suggestion a day at the races is losing its allure. That said, there are signs the sport is losing younger people as I noticed a distinctly ageing feel to this year’s attendees.
There’s no doubt in recent years horseracing has experienced a decline in popularity, with dwindling attendances, declining viewership and decreasing betting revenue. In fact, since 2015, British racing has lost more than a million annual visits and attendance at 2022s five-day Qatar Goodwood Festival was just under 95,000 compared to just over 100,000 in the last pre-Covid year.
This year, even the jockeys were long in the tooth. This was the last Goodwood appearance of the legendary Frankie Dettori. After a 35-year-career, the flamboyant champion jockey is hanging up his boots this year at the age of 52. And riding in the Magnolia Cup was the oldest jockey of the day, and twenty years Frankie’s senior, 72-year-old Caroline Miller, perhaps the oldest rider Goodwood has ever seen.
And I’ve got to say, despite all the regal yellow and maroon flags fluttering around the place, Goodwood Racecourse — which likes to claim to be “the most beautiful racecourse in the world” — is also beginning to show its age. The prestigious March Grandstand—opened in 1980 — could certainly do with a facelift and even the parade ring area, which opened in 2001, would benefit from a makeover.
I doubt it will receive one any time soon as 2023 has already proven a difficult year for Goodwood. Like so many big events it’s recovering from the financial losses due to Covid and it took a further massive hit when it had to completely cancel the Saturday of this year’s Festival of Speed, due to inclement weather. The vagaries of the English summer also befell this year’s Qatar Goodwood Festival on Saturday when heavy rain forced racing to be abandoned after the fourth race, for the first time in living memory.
Without the injection of Middle East sponsorship — and Goodwood’s current 10-year deal with Qatar ends in 2024 — I doubt Glorious would have survived in its present form. But without the return to its glamorous heyday, I’m not sure it can keep going, especially with the apathy the younger generation show to horseracing.
There are signs that the heirarchy are aware of the need to attract a younger crowd. The best example of this being Three Friday Nights — where ‘big name’ DJ’s spin their turntables in the parade ring after the action on the track has finished. A few years on, it’s now become an annual staple in the racecourse’s calendar.
On a much smaller scale, this Friday saw a DJ playing tunes on the Earl’s Lawn complete with two saxophonists. Talking of scale, what the future holds for Glorious Goodwood is all about the extent of ambition that the Duke of Richmond and his team show in the year’s to come. I feel they need to raise their game and be as innovative at the racecourse as they’ve been at the circuit for Festival of Speed and at the house for Revival.
Next year will be the 200th anniversary of Glorious Goodwood switching to July after the first twelve meetings were held in May. It will be interesting to see what Goodwood does to mark the occasion.
Ultimately that’s about enhancing the racegoers experience by offering a host of more engaging activities. But the sport also needs to replace outgoing personalities like Frankie with younger jockeys who have star appeal. If it doesn’t evolve, if it doesn’t spark interest among a younger crowd, then it could soon be an also-ran.
Behind the shot: These images were taken using the Olympus OM-D E-M1 with the M Zuiko 1.8 75mm lens and the camera’s built-in digital zoom. One of the challenges shooting portraits at the racecourse is there are no locations with a good backdrop. That means it’s almost impossible to get a clean shot without other people being in the frame. Photographed at Goodwood Racecourse on 4 August 2023
About the author: Based in Sussex-by-the-Sea, on England’s south coast, Gary is a creative writer and image-maker. He specialises in creating out of the ordinary portraits of musicians and people with interesting faces, as well as photographing some of the world’s finest flowers and gardens, not forgetting an array of automotive exotica.
On the writing side, he has used his research skills to author deep dives into some noteworthy songs beginning with Bryan Ferry’s ‘These Foolish Things’ ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials, ‘Real Wild Child’ by Ivan and ‘All The Young Dudes’ by Mott the Hoople.
He has also written a biography of Robert Palmer and the stories behind Whitesnake’s blatant Led Zep rip-off, ‘Still Of The Night’, Harry Styles’ anthem to positivity, ‘Treat People With Kindness’ and the little known Queen track ‘Cool Cat.’
Most recently, Gary has penned the fascinating story behind George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four.’ as well as ‘Believe It Or Not’ a look into the rise of fake news.
All these can be found here on Medium, along with his reviews of gigs and events and chats with musicians including the likes of Royal Blood, Joe Satriani and Wolf Alice.
