Bluffers guide to Goodwood: Know the Sussex Stakes from the Goodwood Cup

Glorious Goodwood, you've heard of it sure, but what exactly is all the fuss about? Let us explain . . .

What is it: Glorious Goodwood

Why it is important: Three Group 1 races – the highest level; there are only 36 of them in Britain all year across all trips and ages. A whole host of Group 2s and Group 3s, bundles of prize-money and some of the most competitive and valuable handicaps in the calendar make it one of the biggest meetings of the year for professionals and punters alike.

Why it is unique: The backdrop is jaw-droppingly beautiful and the track is not exactly ordinary either. With its undulations, tight turns and loopy layout, it is a rollercoaster ride compared to the pan-flat ovals found at some racecourses. It takes a special horse to handle the intensity of Group 1 combat around such a track.

Sporting equivalent: The Commonwealth Games. It's not the Olympics, but in certain events it may as well be as all the big names line up.

Tuesday

Goodwood Cup 3.35pm

What is it: A two-mile marathon that was upgraded to Group 1 status this year to better reflect the huge increase in prize-money and the quality of previous winners.

Why it is important: Until this year the Ascot Gold Cup was the only Group 1 in Britain for stayers, but with nowhere else to go the best around would turn up for races like the Goodwood Cup. The Goodwood Cup was upgraded because it has been run for years as a Group 1 in all but name, and it finally gets the recognition it deserves.

Who is involved: Gold Cup winner Big Orange is the big draw here and not just because of his Royal Ascot success. He has won this race for the last two years and could join Double Trigger as the only three-time winners of this historic race.

Sporting equivalent: Big Orange is racing’s Andy Murray. Very good for a long time and with hard work, persistence, and the heart of a lion, he has made it all the way to the top.

Lennox Stakes3.00pm

What is it: A Group 2 over seven furlongs.

Why it is important: There is no Group 1 in Britain over the distance, so for horses who need a bit further than six but don’t quite stay a mile this is the race around which the season revolves.

Who is involved: A great mix of horses. Seven-furlong specialists Home Of The Brave, Spirit Of Valor, Librisa Breeze and Breton Rock clash with sprinters stepping up such as Limato and those dropping back from a mile such as Cougar Mountain.

Sporting equivalent: The EFL Trophy. Not the most important event of the season in the grand scheme of things, but for those involved it can mean everything.

Limato: star name runs in the Lennox StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Vintage Stakes 2.25pm

What is it: A Group 2 over seven furlongs for potential 2,000 Guineas types.

Why it is important: As a proven stepping-stone to next year’s Classics, the Vintage Stakes is one of the best juvenile races of the year. 2,000 Guineas winner Galileo Gold won it two years ago, while Group 1-winning milers Toormore and Olympic Glory are also on the recent honour roll. Derby winner Sir Percy and wonderhorse Highland Reel are among those who have won this before going on to excel over further.

Who is involved: A whole host of exciting juveniles representing the biggest trainers and with a string of 1s next to their name. Aidan O'Brien's Seahenge, Sir Michael Stoute's Expert Eye, Mark Johnston's Mildenberger and Hugo Palmer's Curiosity take on Eoghan O'Neill's French raider Cold Stare.

Sporting equivalent: Junior Wimbledon. Despite similar contests, for some reason it is in this one that time and again future stars show their potential.

Highland Reel: tough-as-nails colt won the Vintage Stakes as a two-year-oldCredit: Mark Cranham

Wednesday

Sussex Stakes3.35pm

What is it: One of the biggest races of the season. It is arguably the premier Group 1 contest in Europe over a mile and is worth a cool £1 million.

Why it is important: It is the first chance for the Classic colts to take on their elders. They get a handy weight allowance (7lb, down from 8lb last year), but go from competing against the best of their generation to competing against the best milers around.

Who is involved: Dual 2,000 Guineas winner Churchill takes on this season’s crack older miler Ribchester, who has won the Lockinge and Queen Anne already in 2017. They have each won two Group 1s this year, which one will make it three? Jean-Claude Rouget’s Zelzal could also represent France.

Sporting equivalent: The Champions League final. The best of the best meet at last. If Churchill is Kylian Mbappe then Ribchester is Cristiano Ronaldo, whose position at the top he is after.

Thursday

Nassau Stakes3.35pm

What is it: A Group 1 for fillies over a fraction short of a mile and a quarter.

Why it is important: It often brings together the best middle-distance fillies (a mile and a half) with those who have been racing over a mile and has an honour roll that reads like a who’s who of legendary mares. Minding, The Fugue, Midday (three times), Peeping Fawn, Ouija Board and Alexander Goldrun have all won the race in the last 12 years.

Who is involved: Aidan O’Brien’s dual Guineas and Royal Ascot winner Winter is the headline act, but Pretty Polly heroine Nezwaah, Breeders’ Cup Fillies and Mares Turf winner Queen’s Trust, the returning Wuheida and John Gosden’s pair of stars So Mi Dar and Shutter Speed add real class and depth.

Sporting equivalent: Wimbledon 2003, when the eight quarter-finalists were Serena Williams, Jennifer Capriati, Justine Henin-Hardenne, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Lindsay Davenport, Venus Williams, Silvia Farina Elia and Kim Clijsters. This is a who’s who of the sport’s most talented females, with Winter quite possibly in the role of Serena as an other-worldly dominant force.

Richmond Stakes 3.00pm

What is it: A six-furlong Group 2 for two-year-olds.

Why it is important: The £200,000 in prize-money means the best juveniles turn up. In recent years it has been won by the likes of Ivawood, Shalaa and Mehmas, who beat Blue Point in a thriller. Expect races such as the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes later this season and the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup at next year’s Royal Ascot to be on the winner’s agenda.

Who is involved: Royal Ascot runner-up Headway takes on July Stakes one-two Cardsharp and US Navy Flag. They both got the better of Rajasinghe last time, the only horse to finish in front of Headway in the Coventry.

Sporting equivalent: The European Under 20 final – pinpointing the most precocious young talent early in their careers.

Friday

King George Stakes 3.35pm

What is it: A super-charged downhill Group 2 five-furlong sprint.

Why it is important: Falling in between Britain’s two Group 1s over five furlongs, the King George is both an excellent consolation for those who missed out in the King’s Stand at Royal Ascot and the perfect prep for the Nunthorpe. Ortensia did the King George/Nunthorpe double in 2012, while the likes of Kingsgate Native, Borderlescott and La Cucaracha are others whose names appear on both trophies.

Who is involved: Charlie Hills’s three-year-old sprinting sensation Battaash, last year’s King’s Stand winner and this year’s runner-up Profitable, Marsha and Muthmir, the two who chased him home in third and fourth, plus Take Cover who has won two of the last three renewals (Muthmir won the other) and a whole host of very fast horses.

Sporting equivalent: Heats of the 100m at the London World Athletics Championships. Who will emerge as the premier challengers to Usain Bolt’s crown? Profitable is your Yohan Blake, he’s been there and done it, but just like Andre De Grasse Battaash is the talented and rapidly improving new kid on the block.

Saturday

Stewards’ Cup 3.35pm

What is it: A six-furlong sprint handicap worth a quarter of a million.

Why it is important: The short distance, huge field and handicap nature of the race make it one of the biggest betting handicaps of the year. It is almost the polar opposite of the Grand National with the 28 runners taking little more than one minute to hurtle down Goodwood’s undulations and cambers.

Who is involved: All the usual suspects, Projection, Danzeno, Orion’s Bow, Raucous, Sir Dancealot, Naggers, Eastern Impact, Outback Traveller – the list goes on – plus potential Group 1 horse Culturati.

Sporting equivalent: Ski cross, if they let all the competitors loose at once – and weighted them to finish in a straight line. You try picking the winner of that!

Stewards' Cup contender Danzeno with trainer Mick Appleby

Gordon Stakes 3.00pm

What is it: A Group 3 over a mile and a half.

Why it is important: Only a Group 3, and for three-year-olds, it is easy to assume the Gordon Stakes is for horses who are just shy of top class. However, it is more the case that it is for horses who are a little bit slower in their development. Sixties Icon (one), Conduit (four), Harbinger (one), Noble Mission (three), Highland Reel (six) and Ulysses (one) are among the last 11 winners and have subsequently amassed 16 Group/Grade 1 wins between them.

Sporting equivalent: The winner is usually a bit like a 25-year-old Mo Farah or Chris Froome, unproven just yet but secretly capable of world domination and one to follow.