Franklin D pays for sponsorship but Hennessy still ahead in longevity stakes

Goodwood Cup day was more or less perfect. Any day starting with a winner owned by George Materna and ending with the Sarah Harrison Band at the Platform in Southampton has to be a bit special. People wandering past (not something I've ever managed) might have thought Cher was in full flow; Harrison is very, very good indeed.

It's fair to say that You're Hired was very strongly fancied at Amanda Perrett's and if ever a man deserved a 9-1 winner at a course he has supported for thirty years it was George. Typically, quite apart from his own bets, he had £100 on for charity and if You're Fired, who he doesn't own, had won on Friday, the £100 double would have added considerably to all the recent talk about major gambles landed.

It was an excellent meeting this year and the executive, together with clerk of the course Seamus Buckley, should feel proud. Buckley manages to look amiable and utterly focused at the same time, which is a neat trick. "You can have a drink on Saturday evening," I said. "Or maybe two," he smiled.