Glorious Goodwood: Day one as it happened

The weather is just about perfect on the Downs with the sun beating down on the crowd who have gathered to see what the opening day of the five-day festival has to offer.

We’ll be keeping you fully up-to-date on this page with all the action, with links to racecards, tips, results and other news from Glorious.

You can also follow @stevebone1 on Twitter for updates and join in with your own thoughts.

- STEVE BONE

11.50am. The gates have been open for an hour and the racecourse is gradually filling up. A crowd of around 12,000 or 13,000 is expected today – the lowest of the week. The bet365 Lennox Stakes is today’s feature race, a Group 2 contest that Richard Hannon and Richard Hughes have high hopes of winning with Toormore.

12noon. The going remains Good, Good to Firm in places on the round course (Watered). There was a shower early yesterday evening, which ceased at 6pm. It has been dry since.

Seamus Buckley, Goodwood’s Clerk of the Course, said at 9.30am: “We watered selectively yesterday evening to maintain the current going description. The forecast up to and including Friday is for predominantly dry weather.

“I am very pleased with the condition of the course and looking forward to tremendous racing during the five days of Glorious Goodwood, especially the latest Duel on the Downs between Kingman and Toronado.”

NON-RUNNERS TODAY

3.05pm bet365 Lennox Stakes

6 GREGORIAN (IRE) (Self Cert (Not Eaten Up))

8 PROFESSOR (Self Cert (Temperature))

4.50pm bet365 Handicap

16 MISS ATOMIC BOMB (Vet’s Cert (Lame))

5.20pm Casino At bet365 Handicap

2 BARNET FAIR (Spread a plate)

19 CRUISE TOTHELIMIT (IRE) (Vet’s Cert (Not Sound))

12.20. If you want to see some fairly-live pictures may I recommend you go to This very nice Twitter feed

12.40 Temperature has gone up a few degrees even since the gates open. Perfect day for it, may even get a bit too hot for us workers up here.

1pm. News regarding tomorrow’s Sussex Stakes - War Command is ruled out (vet’s certificate). That leaves Darwin, Toronado, Kingman, Outstrip in thr race.

1.05 So who’s in form jockey and trainer-wise at Goodwood this season? Here are the leading operators from the track’s eight meetings so far...

Jockeys with more than one win:

Richard Hughes 5

Adam Kirby 4

Patt Dobbs 4

Luke Morris 3

George Baker 3

Frankie Dettori 2

Franny Norton 2

Ryan Moore 2

Oisin Murphy 2

Hayley Turner 2

Richard Kingscote 2

Mrtin Dwyer 2

Trainers with more than one win:

Richard Hannon 5

Roger Charlton 3

Amanda Perrett 3

Charlie Appleby 3

Gary Moore 2

Hughie Morrison 2

Mark Johnston 2

Sir Michael Stoute 2

Tom Dascombe 2

Looks like Hughes and Hannon are the ones to follow, for a change, an d racecourse boss Adam Waterworth reckons they could even win the first three races of day one.

1.25. My top (and only) celebrity spot so far has been none other than TV’s Henry Kelly, one-time presenter of Game For A Laugh and other top shows. When he came in he was greeted by a lady who informed him she was on his last-ever Going For Gold. Small world.

1.30. There’s a pundits’ panel going through the card in the winner’s enclosure - among the experts is Racing UK presenter Oli Bell, who is one of many people featured in the Chi Observer’s Glorious magazine, which you can pick up from our office in Eastgate Square or at the racecourse all week.

Not long til they’re off now...

1.50 Let the action begin – and 18 go in the bet365.com Stakes.

2pm. The opener goes to Sennockian Star, a 14/1 starter, ridden by Joe Fanning for Mark Johnston - who also trained third-placed Salutation. Second was Ajman Bridge.

Mark Johnston has been the only trainer to (temporarily) take away Richard Hannon’s title of top trainer on the Downs in recent years and he always targets this festival with some of his top horses. At one stage in that first race, his horses were first, second and third, but one fell away to allow Luca Cumani’s Ajman Bridge into second place.

Johnston said: “All three of our jockeys rode fine races. That was Busatto’s best run for a while in the most competitive race he’s been in for a while - Royston rode a great race in front and kicked clear at just the right moment meaning it was going to take good ones to get past him. First Salutation did, then I thought we were going to be out of it [when Ajman Bridge threatened] but thankfully Sennockian Star appeared.

“Before the race I said everyone’s talking about Salutation, but it really has to be Sennockian Star because conditions are spot on for him and it’s rare for him to run a bad race. He’s run poorly at Epsom and Redcar this season but each time he failed to get a good start - he seems to sulk if he gets in behind, but I knew if he was thereabouts at the start he would be there at the finish.

Fanning added: “They went a nice gallop up front, which suits this lad - I think that he is better getting a lead. Inside the final furlong, I thought that I would always get there.”

2.15. The going is now good to firm all over.

2.20 Next up is the bet365 Molecomb Stakes - first of the week’s Group races, a Group 3 contest. Beacon (Hannon/Hughes) is highly fancied.

2.25 Richard Hughes is chasing a fifth consecutive Racing UK Glorious Goodwood Top Jockey Award but bet365 believe Ryan Moore is the man to beat. The firm makes Moore its 11/8 favourite with Hughes a standout price at 13/8.