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Racing News 2009 |
Goodwood Racecourse Presents The Speed Bonus
28/04/09
Goodwood Racecourse and the Racehorse Owners Association (ROA) are delighted to announce that the Sussex course will host The Speed Bonus, worth £100,000, as part of an exciting new raceday concept on Sunday, September 13.
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An eight-race card will consist of eight handicaps, including a nursery, run over distances ranging from five furlongs to two miles. There will be a £100,000 bonus for the winning horse with the fastest time, based on the Racing Post standard time for the race distance.
The incentive will be open to ROA members and the prize money will be split, with £80,000 going to the owner, £10,000 to the trainer, with the winning jockey and groom each receiving £5,000. Full details regarding registration will be sent out to ROA members in early May.
Goodwood’s Managing Director Rod Fabricius commented: “This is an innovation which we have introduced to a traditional racecard which we believe will generate a lot of excitement on the day. The majority of horses taking part will be rated between 66 and 85, therefore £100k represents a substantial amount of prize money.”
ROA President Paul Dixon is also excited about the new raceday: “This is a unique and exciting event which will generate a great deal of publicity and goodwill and we would urge owners who have suitable horses to make an early registration.”
Goodwood hosts the first of a record 23 fixtures in 2009 with a quality seven-race card on Saturday, May 2, when the feature race will be the Listed £40,000 EBF Conqueror Stakes (2.55pm).
The mile contest has been won by several high-class fillies in recent years including Dolores, who went on to be third in the Group One Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot on her next start, and Gonfilia, who followed up victory at Goodwood with success in a Group Three contest at Epsom on Oaks Day.
This year’s renewal also looks set to feature some promising types including Infamous Angel, who landed the Group Two Lowther Stakes at Newmarket last July. The three-year-old filly is trained by East Everleigh-based handler Richard Hannon, who enjoyed a phenomenal season at Goodwood in 2008, receiving the Dick Hern award for the leading trainer with 15 victories to his name.
Infamous Angel ended her juvenile season with a good seventh behind leading 1,000 Guineas contender Serious Attitude in the Group One Cheveley Park Stakes and Hannon is hopeful that his filly can return to form following a disappointing seasonal return on ground softer than ideal in a Group Three contest at Newbury on April 18.
Hannon revealed: “We’ve entered Infamous Angel in the EBF Conqueror Stakes and she will probably run in the race at the moment. The ground was against her at Newbury and she’s a better filly on a faster surface.
“She’s come out of that race in good order and she showed a very decent level of form last year. I think that she will have no problem with getting the mile trip and I would be hopeful that she will run her race on Saturday.”
Other notable entries for the EBF Conqueror Stakes include Born Tobouggie, who got the better of Perfect Star and Scuffle in a Listed fillies’ contest at Kempton in mid-April, Group Three toteswinger Prestige Stakes runner-up Rose Diamond, and Cassique Lady, whose trainer Lucy Wadham took this race 12 months ago with Enforce.
Saturday’s seven-race card gets underway with the £15,000 toteswinger Handicap (2.20pm). An entry of 15 for the contest, run over just short of 10 furlongs includes Mr Hichens, who landed the South Coast Stakes at Goodwood in August, prolific all-weather winners Ahlawy and Brouhaha, the consistent King Supreme and Jabal Tariq, from the in-form yard of Barry Hills.
Other handicap action includes the six-furlong £7,500 totescoop6 Stakes (3.30pm), the £5,000 Royal Sussex Regiment Stakes (4.40pm), run over just under 10 furlongs, while 16 sprinters have been entered for the five-furlong £12,000 Golf At Goodwood Stakes (5.45pm).
Goodwood’s first two-year-contest of the season, the five-furlong £5,000 Goodwood Hotel Maiden Stakes (4.05pm), has been won by some promising juveniles in the past, not least subsequent champion sprinter Red Clubs in 2004, while the three-year-olds will also have a chance to register a first victory in the £5,000 Goodwood Festival Of Speed Median Auction Maiden Stakes (5.15pm), run over seven furlongs.
As well as exciting fare on the course, Goodwood’s first fixture of the year will be Sport at Goodwood Raceday. There will be aerobatic displays courtesy of the Goodwood Aeroclub prior to racing, while classic and high performance cars will be on display at various points of the racecourse.
GROUND
The ground at Goodwood is currently Good, Good to Firm in Places on the Round Course.
Clerk of the Course Seamus Buckley commented: “We are delighted with the condition of the course. We had 14 millimetres of rain on Monday night and following a dry spring we are confident that we will start the new season on perfect racing ground.
“The weather forecast for the end of the week is very promising so we are all looking forward to a great day’s racing on Saturday”.
After Saturday’s opening raceday, Goodwood hosts another six fixtures throughout May, including a new Bank Holiday raceday on Monday, May 25. The second fixture is on Thursday, May 7.
