Shot! Ladies’ Day at the 2022 Qatar Goodwood Festival
The weather was wonderful, the course was busier than ever, but once again much of the glamour of old was missing from this year’s Glorious Goodwood.
Racing at Goodwood dates back all the way to 1802 when the Duke of Richmond created the course on the Sussex Downs above his home, Goodwood House. 220 years later, and it’s still going strong. One of the undoubted highlights of the English summer season is the five-day festival, Glorious Goodwood, which is held at the end of July.
Renowned as being one of the world’s most beautiful racecourses, I’ve been coming to Goodwood each year since 2011. Over that time, the event has undergone quite a few changes and is more popular than ever, attracting some 100,000 punters. Although now officially known as the Qatar Goodwood Festival, everyone still calls it Glorious Goodwood.
This year the sun shone all day and despite the arid conditions of the Sussex summer, the course wasn’t just raceable, but looked splendidly verdant. Props to clerk of the course, Ed Arkel and his team for the work they must have put in. I’ve learnt this is possible thanks to a borehole at Goodwood House which feeds the racecourse’s own irrigation system. The water is pumped electronically to Trundle Hill, the high spot close to the finish line, before being gravity fed by pump to a ring main all around the course.
Traditionally, day three, Thursday is the glamour day, with the ladies’ sporting big hats and fascinators and the men going head to toe with them in panamas and brightly coloured blazers.
In recent years, however, there has been a noticeable change as the formal costumes continue to give way to more relaxed attire. Fewer hats were in evidence and the corsages were non-existent. In previous years, punters could choose a complimentary button hole from boxes of beautiful roses, but that tradition now appears to be a thing of the past.
Traditionally — well at least since 2011 — Ladies’ Day begins with a charity race, the Magnolia Cup. Named after the Magnolia grandiflora which grow up the front of Goodwood House, it features amateur female jockeys wearing designer silks, which this year were all created by British designer Roksanda Illincic.
In a race which to me should feature only well-known faces, I have to admit not knowing any of the dozen riders.
This lack of celebrity is something else that has diminished the glamour of Goodwood. Once, there were all manner of famous faces to be seen in the parade ring, but I didn’t see a single one this year.
In past years, the winning Magnolia Cup jockey received their prize from the likes of Tom Cruise (2014) and prima ballerina Darcey Bussell (2016). At this year’s celebrity-free Ladies’ Day, however, they had to be content with Joan Armatrading who, it has to be said, is the antithesis of glamour.
Beyond the absence of famous faces, something else that was once again missing from the festival was an Instagrammable backdrop. Back in 2015, there was a rather impressive red flower wall near the entrance where photos could be taken, but now there aren’t any photo-friendly backdrops anywhere on the racecourse, which I think is a huge missed opportunity.
Just like last year, once again pink was the prevailing colour of choice, worn in many shades by lots of women, often teamed with orange.
As far as the men were concerned, the primary colour they were sporting was bright blue.
This year, I couldn’t help but notice some of their footwear. One wore a different coloured shoe on either foot, but my favourite was this patent orange pair! Sidebar: For those that are interested, they are by Dobell and are available on Amazon for just £49.99.
As on the Friday, where racegoers are encouraged to wear blue, so I think it would be a good idea for Goodwood to suggest they wear pink and orange on Ladies’ Day. The more people wearing one colour, the more the sense of occasion.
While the 2021 Ladies’ Day may have lacked the glamour of previous years, it was brimming with people. Indeed, I can’t ever recall seeing the racecourse so busy. There also seemed to be a younger crowd. The atmosphere was more like a music festival than a day at the races.
There was also more food and drink offerings than ever, with a growing number of branded pavilions including Jaeger-leCoultre, Veuve Clicquot, Whispering Angel and Nicholson Gin. The Duke is of course a highly successful entrepreneur, responsible for creating world-class events such as the Festival of Speed and Revival. Given his track record, I’m surprised there isn’t more innovation at the racecourse, both on the track and off it.
Personally, I’d like to see a host of different types of horseracing and continue to be baffled why there aren’t a range of premium souvenirs for sale. But more than anything, next year I’d like to see an emphasis on bringing back the glamour to Goodwood. Believe me, it makes all the difference!
Behind the shot: All these images were taken handheld with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 using the M Zuiko 1.8 75mm lens. As always at Goodwood, for me, the biggest challenge photographically was trying to get candid portraits against an unfussy backdrop, something that proved exceptionally difficult this year. I also wanted to avoid having posed subjects looking straight down the lens, as those type of portraits all too often look like Instagram snaps. Shot at Goodwood Racecourse on 28 July 2022.
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.
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 and ‘All The Young Dudes’ by Mott the Hoople.
Most recently, he has written a biography of Robert Palmer and the stories behind Whitesnake’s ‘Still Of The Night’ and Harry Styles’ anthem to positivity, ‘Treat People With Kindness’. He has also recently penned the fascinating story behind George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four.’
All these can be found here on Medium, along with his reviews of gigs and events and chats with musicians.
