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Things that make Goodwood Glorious, featuring liberal use of the letter 'G'

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Racing UK and Betfair Radio presenter Lorna Bradburne gets gooey-eyed about Goodwood.

Alliteration has worked wonders for the appeal of the 'Glorious Goodwood' festival. Given the success, let's take it a step further.

Grand Views.

Never have I visited a racecourse that offers such spectacular views. Situated at the top of the Sussex Downs, until you go there and witness it for yourself you can't imagine how sensational it really is. There is no more beautifully situated racecourse in the UK, and the layout of the course facilities fully complement this natural site. The paddock and the weighing room in particular really make for the 'unique' factor of the racecourse.

Glamour

We have to be quick to point out that this festival is not like, and not meant to be like, Royal Ascot which is 'full-on' glamour. More understated dress is required of both ladies and gentleman, elegant and chic is the name of the game, and while the ladies will wear cool, stylish summer dresses, the men will be decked out in their linen and panama hats.

Gourmet

Good eating and drinking is so much part of a day at the races and this festival does it to the max. The car park picnics will be sure to materialise, where one car boot will bid to outdo every other on quantity and lavishness. However, the racecourse itself offers plentiful sustenance with restaurants such as the Charlton Hunt Restaurant and the Double Trigger Restaurant (for members only at this festival). Bars are also plentiful, it's just a case of having a look around and seeing which one caters for your tastes best.

Goodwood Cup

In recent years this has produced some fabulous finishes from some of our favourites, namely Persian Punch. He ran in this race seven times, won twice, 2001 and 2003, and was denied a trio of victories by a short head, courtesy of Jardines Lookout (a nose wasn't an official distance then) in 2002. Mark Johnson has won this race three times in the past ten years with Double Trigger (1998), Royal Rebel (2000) and Darasim (2004). Allegretto, the reigning title-holder is likely to be there to defend his crown this year.

Giant's Causeway

He wasn't called the iron horse for nothing. He came home to win the 2000 running of the Sussex Stakes, completing his third group one success in only six weeks. He achieved his victory with relative ease, although the winning margin was only three quarters of a length. A bull of a horse who captured many a heart, ironically for his defeats more than his victories, none more so than when going down a quarter of a length in the Breeders Cup Classic. Mick Kinane got his whip caught up in the reins in the dying strides of the race, and was therefore not able to pick it up, who knows if it made any difference to the result as horse and rider had given all.

Rock of Gibraltar

(I know it doesn't start with a 'G', but you see where I'm coming from).

Absolutely one of my favourite horses, who extended his group one winning sequence to six when landing the 2002 Sussex Stakes. He was taking on older horses for the first time and struck a chord with many with this thrifty annihilation of the field. He went on to win the Prix du Moulin, extending his group one winning sequence to seven before an agonising defeat in the Breeders Cup Mile, where he suffered terrible luck in-running.

Great Racing

This week offers some of the best racing in the world. Watch and enjoy Henrythenavigator in the Sussex Stakes, his predecessors from Ballydoyle have come into this race with a fuller portfolio of wins, but three group one triumphs, two of which were classics is hardly to be scoffed at. I can't see beyond Lush Lashes for the Nassau Stakes, but I know how much John Dunlop would like to take the honours at his local track with Muthabara. The mad dash of the Stewards Cup is always a spectacle and you could do a lot worse than take Beaver Patrol as an each-way option having finished fifth, just over a length beaten by Zidane in last year's race. Not forgetting the two-year-old showpieces, the Veuve Cliquot Vintage Stakes and the Richmond Stakes which are guaranteed to pull in the talent amongst the juvenile crop.

Red Dune is my nap for the week in the Oak Tree Stakes. A very highly thought of filly who won her maiden at this track before going on to score at Newmarket, it has been a steady and un-ambitious campaign so far which will pay dividends when she comes to line up on Friday.