Opening Glorious Goodwood 2025 on day 1 of the five-day Festival fixture on the Sussex Downs is a competitive card packed full of hot handicaps and Group action. Headlining proceedings is the Goodwood Cup over two miles as the staying division looks to crown a new champion.
Supporting races from this iconic racing venue include two Group 2 races over seven furlongs. The first of these is the Vintage Stakes for juveniles with the Lennon Stakes starring standing dish Kinross to follow. On the handicap front, the Chesterfield Cup opens the whole Qatar Goodwood Festival, but it’s a competitive beginning.
Later on the card, Glorious Goodwood 2025 day 1 also boasts a sprint over the flying five furlongs and some females only races to finish. Watch out for Panama hats at what is still a big social occasion. Plenty of Royal Ascot form gets tested here, but the track demands different things from the horses going on from Berkshire to Sussex.
We’ve had our experts thinking about the Qatar Goodwood Festival for some time now, so you don’t even need to give a penny for their thoughts. With their studies complete already, they assess the best prices from horse racing betting sites and what’s in the form book in search of that precious thing we call value.
Excepting a maiden including unraced horses, our experts have selections and analysis on seven of the eight races on this opening day card. Now, without further ado, let’s delve into the action and see which runners appeal on them and more importantly why!
Glorious Goodwood 2025 Day 1 Preview for Tuesday, 29 July
1:20 – 1m 2f Class 2 Chesterfield Cup
Dangers abound, however, and the similarly lightly-raced Castle Cove looks chief among them for the William Haggas stable. He meets old rival Grey Cuban off 2lb better terms from Chester despite an 8lb hike himself, so should confirm placings with in-form Hugo Palmer’s charge.
Roger Varian has been seeking softer ground for Defiance, meanwhile but, at the time of writing, forecast showers won’t arrive until later in the day. He was an intended runner in the John Smith’s Cup up at York earlier in the month, yet rain just didn’t hit the Kanvesmire.
Last season’s winner Take Heart, now back down to the same mark and switched to the Goodwood local David Menuisier stable, and Tony Montana are back for more. Off 4lb better terms from 12 months ago, the former should beat the latter again. Big-spending Wathnan Racing try to reinvent English Oak as a middle-distance horse and their experiment isn’t without merit following a good second to an improving type up in Scotland last time.
1:55 – 7f Group 2 Vintage Stakes
Do Or Do Not has about a length to find with penalised re-opposing winner Zavateri, but the swing in weights and longer distance pose new questions for Eve Johnson Houghton’s talented youngster. Wathnan’s Humidity poses an even bigger threat after landing both career starts including the Chesham at the Royal meeting.
Also tackling the Andrew Balding runner is Irish raider Dorset for Aidan O’Brien. Their form looks mixed, so the market principals are far from solid in that respect. Joining those in the line-up are five more last time out winners including three once-raced sorts. Any of these could in theory be dark horses, but it’s hard to ignore Group form.
2:30 – 7f Group 2 Lennox Stakes
Dual race winner KINROSS is 5lb better off with head John Of Gaunt winner Ten Bob Tony, so Ralph Beckett’s veteran should be winning this for a third time on Glorious Goodwood 2025 day 1. Now an eight-year-old, he always needs first run and should now be spot to add to Lennox victories in 2021 and 2023.
Kinross is vulnerable to younger legs, however. The problem with a number in the field against him is there are questions hanging over them. Juddmonte’s Jonquil didn’t shape when narrowly denied in the French Guineas as though going back in trip was what he needed and so it proved when he didn’t fire during Royal Ascot.
This easy seven furlongs demands as much if not more speed from the Balding runner, who admittedly has a handy 7lb weight for age in his favour as a three-year-old. Who knows what we can expect from last season’s scorer Audience, meanwhile. He finished last in 2023, so the Gosdens fit cheekpieces for the first time hoping to spark a revival.
Both of Walker’s runners, the aforementioned Ten Bob Tony who has Buick taking the ride, and Noble Champion have claims. Like the form, the latter arrives off the back of a last time out Group 3 win over this distance. Noble Champion comfortably landed the Jersey Stakes against horses of his own age, but this demands more.
Lake Forest is a frustrating horse to follow, but drops in grade and goes back up in trip after a respectable fifth on the same Royal Ascot card at the highest level. Kinross may be the elder statesman of the seven furlong specialists, but he’s also the most consistent of this bunch, for all others bring more potential improvement.
3:05 – 2m Group 1 Goodwood Cup
IT’S WATHNAN AGAIN! FRENCH MASTER WINS THE COPPER HORSE STAKES! #RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/V503RCfWZE
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 17, 2025
Perhaps the answer lies in the Gosden stable, who landed this a record four times with the great Stradivarius. It’s a big jump from a handicap to this Group 1, but connections of FRENCH MASTER roll the dice after he needed every yard to win over 1m 6f here earlier in the campaign. He shaped very much as though an extra couple of furlongs would suit him then.
French Master confirmed that impression when landing the Copper Horse during the Royal meeting. He’s unexposed, compared to stable companion Sweet William, who was behind Illinois in the Ascot Gold Cup. Military Academy completes the Gosden trio, but he probably has the least going for him of the three.
More interesting at a big price is Menuisier’s Sunway. Although only promoted to third in the St Leger by the Doncaster stewards in the autumn, he runs in a Cup race for the first time and wasn’t home that far behind Illinois. Sunway shares a sire with Vauban, who won over this trip at York last season. Without further rain, meanwhile, Alan King veteran Trueshan probably won’t run.
3:45 – 5f Class 2 Handicap (0-105)
Regal Envoy wins the @astonmartin Handicap in good style for Oisin Murphy and trainer William Knight 👏 pic.twitter.com/yj0GHAXhkK
— Newmarket Racecourse (@NewmarketRace) April 17, 2025
Jakajaro got no run whatsoever last time out, so he looks the best of three in Dr Jim & Fitri Hay’s ownership. He’s also 8lb better off with REGAL ENVOY from Windsor, but the latter will be more at home on this track than York the last day. William Knight also books Buick for the ride now too. Regal Envoy meets old rivals Miss Attitude and Adrestia off 6lb and 7lb more favourable terms, respectively.
The latter has work to do at the revised weights with Shagraan too, who frames the handicap and receives a 4lb swing from Sandown. Clive Cox’s Redorange was another unlucky at Ascot last time, but meets Jakajaro off 2lb worse terms now. Like Shagraan, Dream Composer, Enchanting and Rosario are all previous course and distance winners, so can’t be ruled out.
Ruth Carr runs two with last time scorer Brazen Bolt the pick of that pair. As with all sprints, this is fraught with potential draw bias. Six of the last seven winners have come from a lower ratings band of between 83 and 88, but that picture may be somewhat skewed by Lord Riddiford’s hat-trick in the contest. Some useful sprinters line-up, so be prepared to see that trend broken.
4:55 – 1m Class 3 Fillies’ Handicap (0-95)
Race trends show only the younger females winning this and ideally off a recent run. Not many tick that box, however, and it’s easy to see in the absence of ideal profile fits why the market favours Ralph Beckett’s Dash Of Azure. She was unlucky at Royal Ascot, but still finished fifth in the Sandringham when denied a clear run.
On that form, Dash Of Azure has the beating of re-opposing pair Zgharta, who clearly needs a stiffer stamina test, and Bountiful. Mahra’s Love should also worry about Protest, one of two for Roger Varian, but the Cheveley Park Stud filly has a racecourse absence of 73 days putting a question mark against her. The same stable also saddles Rumba Numba, who has had just three career starts.
David O’Meara runs Tundra Rose in a handicap for the first time, meanwhile. She finished half-a-length in front of Protest in Listed company on much softer ground at Newmarket right at the end of last season. He’s a difficult trainer to catch right, but a disparity in price exists between his filly and the pick of the Varian pair.
5:30 – 6f Class 3 Fillies’ Handicap (0-95)
Another females only handicap to close Glorious Goodwood 2025 day 1 where SEA EMILY RUN is 2lb better off with Lady Of Andros after getting up close home around Chester in May. She looks as though she’s been laid out for this by Tom Clover ever since. Bar Woodhay Wonder, topweight Dubai Treasure concedes lumps all-round and that doesn’t help the Godolphin filly’s cause.
Of greater interest is John & Sean Quinn’s Easy Peeler, who meets Lady Of Andros off the same terms when she beat her at York earlier in the season. Arabian Leopard really is threatening one of these, meanwhile, and is 1lb better off with Shallow from Newmarket. Back in third that day was, you guessed it, Lady Of Ardros who acts as a form marker between plenty of these.
Of the remainder, last time out runners-up Harvanna and Cinque Verde aren’t out of it either. The latter finished second over course and distance off just 1lb lower for Tony Carroll on her penultimate start. She then filled the same spot at Chester behind an in-form rival and finished ahead of Jubilee Walk, who went close in York’s Sky Bet Dash last Saturday.
