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So after the furore over the renaming of the Stewards Cup earlier this year which brought little credit to the racecourse management, we now hear that the entire fixture is being renamed/rebranded.Still at least Lord March says he won’t try to stop people continuing to call it Glorious Goodwood. Just as well. For many that’s the name it has always and will always have. Interestingly and predictability many professionals, trainers and jockeys favour the extra cash on offer, but just like with a top football club where the guardians of traditions are the fans, it is punters and racegoers that feel most affected when old established and well loved meeting and race names are discarded for commercial reasons.
People should get over themselves and stop being so petty imo. The meeting will be enhanced by Qatar’s sponsorship and added prize money, so we should accept any cosmetic changes they want to make.
"It is punters and racegoers that feel most affected when old established and well loved meeting and race names are discarded"
– I find it ridiculous and infuriating that people kick up fusses about such trivial things that don’t have any tangible negative impact to non fuddy-duddies. Many people seem to have an irrational fear of change.
Likewise with the Stewards Cup: I enjoyed the race this year and enjoy reminiscing about previous runnings, but the name is just a tool to distinguish it from other generic big field handicaps.
Wow! So sorry Youngfella you find my opinion on this ridiculous and infriuating. Perhaps I am an old fuddy duddy as you imply, but I certainly wouldn’t use this excellent forum to be scathing about fellow forum followers and racing enthusiasts!
Not having that TYF. What’s next? The ‘Quick Cash at Wonga.Com’ Ascot Festival? I wonder if the European, American & Antipodean raiders whom add so much would bother raiding? They don’t come for the prize money that’s for damn sure. They come for the history and prestige of a winner in a famous race at a historical meeting.
English racing relies a lot on prestige, we live in a commercial world but must be careful not to break our own ice for a quick buck.
I hate race names like the Bula being discarded and I’m not a flat-earthier by any means TYF.
What should really upset us is that Goodwood sold out so cheaply. Two million pounds could make a significant difference to the prize money over the entire season, but they have simply wasted this windfall by applying it to just eight races in July, most of which will involve the money heading back to the Arabian peninsula.
The sum involved is pocket change for Qatar compared to the vast sums they have spent on football – as a single example, they bought Paris St Germain for a reported £130M and set up a sponsorship deal for the club with the Qatari Tourist Authority worth £200M annually.
Not even the most assiduous investigative reporter has managed to get to the bottom of how much they spent to ‘win’ the vote for the 2022 World Cup, but safe to say it was more than this Goodwood sponsorship would cost if it was signed and sealed to last for a century.
If you’re going to sell your soul to the devil, at least make the price worth the eternal damnation!
Lord March – more like Lord April the First imo.
This is great news, a real coup for Goodwood.
As long as the Qataris don’t want the meeting rescheduled for the winter, of course.
Could affect how horses are campaigned.
The King George 5f G2 is now bizarrely worth more than the Nunthorpe and the 2yo races have also had their prizemoney increased significantly. You would have to think that the York Ebor meeting will be the one to suffer.
Plus, the Stewards Cup is now worth £250k – if you have a 95+ rated horse with Group potential at the start of the season, it could be worth keeping it in its box until Goodwood.
Alan is right though – the extra money will end up largely in the pockets of the existing big players who don’t need it.
This is great news, a real coup for Goodwood.
As long as the Qataris don’t want the meeting rescheduled for the winter, of course.
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
I must be a fuddy duddy coz I don’t like it either. I agree 2m seems very cheap to change the whole name and concept. I am all for progression but surely there are one or two things that should remain sacrosanct and the name "Glorious" Goodwood for me is one of them.
"this perfect mix of poetry and destruction, this glory of rhythm, power and majesty: the undisputed champion of the world!!!"
TDK long time no see …welcome back ….now that you are a big cheese in Barking , it would be good to hear from you more often
Lets hope these Quatar geezers dont get fed up and take the ball home …The finances of British racing would be in the pit for sure
It will always be glorious Goodwood for me
The attachment many feel to the old names is a lot to do with racing’s dichotomy in attracting new fans.
Most who get into racing, do so 100% and for life, and they cherish an awful lot, and they travel hundreds of miles to see the likes of Frankel and wonder and talk about his magnificence and how it is something they plan to tell their grandchildren. Racing’s heritage means a lot to them ( I am one of them).
A rare few are more pragmatic, and cold logic says they have a good point. But racing’s not about logic for the majority…
… all in my opinion, of course.
As to bulking up prize money at GG in such ridiculous amounts, I don’t get it. What will it add by way of entries? Perhaps some overseas interest, I suppose, but I’d guess they could have ‘bought’ that for £250,000, rather than £700,000 in the case of the Sussex Stakes.
Crazy
Am I right in saying that Glorious Goodwood has never been an official title for the meeting?
I do agree though that the money could be put to better use. It’s the lower to middle ranking races that need increased prize money. However if the Qataris stipulated that the money would only be available for the top races then Goodwood would be daft to turn it down.
I’m sorry for the strong wording of my post and didn’t mean to offend. This is just a subject that makes me angry, as I often feel people get unnecessarily worked-up about cosmetic changes.
I honestly wouldn’t mind the Quick Cash at Wonga Ascot Gold Cup, just as I don’t mind the Grand National being sponsored by an alcoholic ginger beer brand. Everything could be sponsored by Al-Qaeda and it wouldn’t bother me. I just love watching horses compete and honestly don’t believe race names make any difference to the spectacle or history of an event.
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