Despite the abandonment of Day 5 of the Qatar Goodwood Festival with three races to run, there was plenty of action to enjoy as Ralph Beckett was crowned leading trainer for the first time, with Tom Marquand collecting a first leading jockey award at the meeting.
Beckett and John Quinn both ended the meeting on three winners, with the Kimpton Down handler taking the spoils by virtue of more seconds.
Kinross starred for Beckett as he won the G2 World Pool Lennox Stakes for a second time, while Royal runner Serried Ranks and Balance Play completed a quickfire double for the yard in the closing handicaps on Friday.
Beckett said: “I am amazed, what a lovely surprise! It has been a very satisfying week. I have really enjoyed it and am delighted with how the horses have been running. There were too many seconds, but that is the nature of it!
“Kinross’s win in the Lennox Stakes is the obvious highlight, but also the double yesterday was pretty special.
“Classical Song’s second on debut in the fillies’ maiden was a pleasing run, and Balance Play’s win in the handicap yesterday was a long-held plan.
“I am so sorry the meeting has ended early, it is a great shame for everyone with runners, but I have had a great week and I am looking forward to picking up the award.”
Marquand signed off with four winners, all in Group races, headlined by two excellent front-running rides on Quickthorn in the G1 Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup and Sumo Sam in the Gr2 Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes.
Tom Marquand guides Sumo Sam home in the Lillie Langtry
William Haggas’ first jockey also scored on Royal runner Desert Hero in the Gr3 John Pearce Racing Gordon Stakes and Hamish in the G3 l’Ormarins King’s Plate Glorious Stakes.
Marquand said: “It has been a good week. Coming to big meetings, you walk away with one winner and when you start that’s obviously a big deal. But the further you go through your career, you want to put your name on the placard.
“I grew up at Hannon’s as an apprentice and Goodwood was a big, big deal. You only have to look at the table on the wall to see how many times Richard Hannon senior won leading trainer, and obviously Richard junior after. It’s always been something you would have your eyes on from when you are an apprentice, so it’s great.”
Ed Arkell, Goodwood’s Director of Racing and Clerk of the Course, told Racing TV of the abandonment: “The jockeys expressed their concern after the Qatar Lillie Langtry Stakes that there were some areas on the bends that they weren’t happy about. They were happy to race on the straight course for the Coral Stewards’ Cup, so we ran that, then went and inspected the bends and there is an area of false ground on the bottom bend that unfortunately we were unable to get around
“We were happy that the Coral Stewards’ Cup was fine to run because the issue was not on the straight course, it was on the round course. Unfortunately, all three of the final races come around that bend.
“None of us want to end the meeting like this – it’s been a very challenging week and I would just like to thank my grounds team; Andrew, Sam, George, Jake and Phil, who have worked unbelievably hard to put this meeting on. It has been really difficult for the past two weeks and they have worked late, early and any time just to get the meeting on. It’s really sad for them that we’ve had the weather we’ve had and it has ended like this.
“It was pouring with rain on Sunday and Monday. The track [grass] is long and we haven’t been able to cut it for three days. They started cutting it at half eight at night and didn’t finish until one in the morning to make sure we could get the track cut so it was safe on Tuesday.
“They put the graft in then and you can imagine what the track looked like on Wednesday evening [after heavy daytime rain] and they got the track back in time for Thursday.
“Today the weather has been very different from the forecast we were given first thing this morning. We were given light drizzle and heavy drizzle at times, and it’s been noticeable this week that the forecast has been changing so much – what is being forecast isn’t necessarily happening. It has been challenging and something we might have to deal with a lot more in the future.
“It is always difficult if you are not in control of what’s going on. If it’s drying you can put water on – you have the ability to make that decision, whether they are right or wrong and you cannot please everybody. If you know what you are dealing with it would help. We haven’t put any water on for four weeks and because it has been naturally watered, that has helped the track to cope.
“We work very hard for 51 weeks of the year to ensure this particular meeting is where we want it. You want to run on decent ground that is fair to all, and not slogging through something that looks like a Jump meeting in January. It’s disappointing and upsetting but, that said, we have seen some great racing, and hopefully the horses that have run well will go on to do the same at other meetings.
“Highlights have included the victory of Paddington, who was hugely impressive in the Qatar Sussex Stakes. The Qatar Nassau Stakes [won by Al Husn] is always fascinating and it was great to see Highfield Princess back to winning ways in the King George Qatar Stakes. Hopefully, she should go on and win at York. We have also seen some great two-year-old performances and it will be interesting to see how the winners of the Jaeger-LeCoultre Molecomb Stakes [Big Evs] and British EBF Alice Keppell Stakes [Flora Of Bermuda] go on. Hopefully, to bigger and better things.”
