The last week of July sees the next multi-day treat for racing fans as the always excellent Qatar Goodwood Festival, aka Glorious Goodwood, gets underway. Thirty-seven races are spread over five days of high-quality action, including 13 Group-class affairs. Each of the five days has its highlight, and, on Day One, the stayers take centre stage in the Group 1 Goodwood Cup.
First run as the Goodwood Cup in 1808 and as the Goodwood Gold Cup in 1812, this historic event has been won by stamina-laden greats such as Le Moss, Persian Punch, Yeats, and Kyprios.
Looking ahead to the 2025 edition, nine runners remain in contention for the £500,000 prize. Six trainers may head to Goodwood with high hopes, but the market suggests this is most likely to fall to one of two handlers who have nine Goodwood Cup wins between them.
O’Brien Sends Two-Pronged Attack
Aidan O’Brien’s four Goodwood Cup wins were provided by two of the modern staying greats. Four-time Ascot Gold Cup winner Yeats claimed the 2006 edition and returned to land the prize for a second time in 2008. Sixteen years later, the mighty Kyprios repeated that pattern when coming home in front in 2022 and 2024.
O’Brien may not have a stayer of the calibre of Yeats or Kyprios in the yard in 2025, but he is still responsible for the odds-on favourite. Sired by Galileo and closely related to Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Danedream, Illinois was bred to excel at 1m4f. However, his finest efforts have come at just short of this two-mile trip. Having landed the 2024 Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot, he was narrowly denied by stablemate Jan Brueghel in the St Leger, and has since added the Prix Chaudenay and Ormonde Stakes to his haul. Best of the rest behind Trawlerman in the Ascot Gold Cup last time out, he’s available at a general price of 8/11 to go one better here.
Initially expected to rely solely on Illinois, O’Brien now looks set to add the three-year-old Scandinavia to his Goodwood Cup hand. This son of Justify has thrust his name into the mix with two excellent efforts since stepping up in trip. Not beaten by much when fifth in the Queen’s Vase at Ascot, he stepped up on that to claim the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy by a resounding eight-and-a-half lengths. No three-year-old has won this since Stradivarius claimed his first victory in 2017, but Scandinavia could go close if continuing his improvement.
Improving Master Heads Gosden Challenge
With five previous Goodwood Cup wins, John Gosden lies only two behind John Scott in the all-time trainers’ table. Four of those wins came courtesy of the most successful horse in the history of the race – the brilliant Stradivarius, who came home in front in 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020. It will likely be a long time before another Stradivarius comes around, but Gosden (now training in partnership with son Thady) has an intriguing contender in French Master.
🇫🇷 French Master wins the Copper Horse Stakes
🏆🏆 A double for James Doyle and the Wathnan team#RoyalAscot pic.twitter.com/TsA3IX3XfD
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 17, 2025
Now sporting the Wathnan Racing silks, this late-developing sort caught the eye when claiming two novice events in 2024. Now four years old, he has wasted little time delivering on that potential. Catching the eye when staying on for second in a 1m4f Newmarket Handicap, he then scored over this course and distance on his first crack at a staying trip in May. Sent to Royal Ascot on the back of that effort, he produced one of the most impressive handicap displays of the meeting in the Copper Horse Stakes. A new rating of 108 leaves him with a few pounds to find with Illinois, but he is clearly heading in the right direction.
While French Master may be open to improvement, we know what we are going to get from the Gosden second-string Sweet William. In six previous outings at 1m7½f to two miles, he has never finished outside of the top three. Second, here in 2024, he seems likely to be involved in the finish once again.
Military Code rounds out the Gosden trio and could be the surprise package as he races over further than 1m4f for the first time. A Listed winner in 2024, he posted his best effort of 2025 when closing all the way to the line behind Hamish in the Tapster Stakes at this track.
Others to note in an intriguing line-up include Ascot Gold Cup third Dubai Future, Group 1 winning juvenile Sunway, and the admirable veteran Trueshan, who claimed the 2021 edition of this event.