The final week of July saw one of Britain’s most prestigious multi-day meetings roll into action on the Sussex Downs. As ever, the Qatar Goodwood Festival delivered five days of high-class entertainment on what was a particularly enjoyable week for favourite backers and Wathnan Racing. Those supporting the market leader collected in each of the week’s three Group 1 contests, while Wathnan celebrated a spectacular seven winners.
With Glorious Goodwood drawing to a close, Saturday 1 August brought news that Sussex Stakes- and Nassau Stakes-winning rider Jim Crowley had made the difficult decision to head into retirement.
Favourites Deliver in Goodwood Group 1s
While home to a selection of the most competitive handicaps of the season, the Group 1 trio of the Goodwood Cup, Sussex Stakes, and Nassau Stakes are the clear highlights of the Qatar Goodwood Festival. In 2026, all three contests featured a short-priced favourite. To the delight of many punters, all three delivered in style.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained Scandinavia was first up in the Day 1 feature of the Goodwood Cup. Successful in the 2025 edition, the Justify colt started as the 6/5 favourite to defend his crown. Lying in wait among the opposition was the Godolphin staying star, Trawlerman, who lost out by just a head to Scandinavia in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot. While that meeting in June produced a thrilling finish, the conclusion to this contest was sabotaged by the efforts of loose horse Amiloc, who ran right across Trawlerman in the straight. With Scandinavia going on to score by 8½-lengths, that interference is unlikely to have affected the result, but it did suck much of the drama out of the final furlong. The Irish St Leger is the most obvious next stop for Scandinavia, as the new king of the staying division bids to extend his winning sequence to eight.
Day 2 saw the focus switch to the stars of the mile division in the £1.5 million Sussex Stakes. In 2026, no miler has shone brighter than the George Boughey-trained Bow Echo. Building on an unbeaten juvenile campaign, the Night Of Thunder colt made a dazzling return in the 2,000 Guineas, before recording a narrow victory in the St. James’s Palace Stakes. While that short-head verdict over Gstaad didn’t impress everyone, Bow Echo still started as the 10/11 favourite in the Sussex Stakes.
Heading into the closing stages, it looked as though the market leader had his work cut out, as first Opera Ballo and then Gstaad made their bid for glory. However, once finding full stride down the outside, a sense of inevitability emerged as Bow Echo ran down old rival Gstaad to score by half a length. Now six from six at the track, Bow Echo became the first horse since the mighty Frankel to win the 2,000 Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes, and Sussex Stakes in the same season. Next stop France, for a crack at the Prix Jacques-Le-Marois or the Prix du Moulin.
The Friday feature saw Diamond Necklace bid to follow in the hoofprints of Bow Echo by extending her unbeaten record to six. While a five-time winner, this was the filly’s first start on British soil. Kicking off 2026 with back-to-back French Classic wins in the Poule d’Essai Des Pouliches and Prix de Diane, she started as the 4/6 favourite as she tackled her elders for the first time. Those who took the short price had few moments of concern as the Aidan O’Brien star proved to be in a different league to her rivals. Looming large at the furlong pole, she cruised clear of her rivals for an emphatic 2½-length success under Ryan Moore. Diamond Necklace looks tough to beat if kept to 1m2f events against fillies and mares, but her next assignment may see her tackle the colts and/or step up to 1m4f.
Winners Flow for Wathnan Racing
Bursting onto the big stage with a double at Royal Ascot in 2023, Wathnan Racing have emerged as one of the biggest new forces in British Racing. While not yet on a par with the Coolmore or Godolphin juggernauts, the Qatar-backed operation has made a big splash at the biggest events.
Having recorded a single winner at the Qatar Goodwood Festival in 2024 and 2025, Wathnan were no stranger to success at the summertime fixture. However, in 2026, they moved into a different gear and left all other owners trailing in their wake. At the end of the five days, Wathnan had registered an impressive seven winners to claim the leading owners crown at a meeting which means so much to the operation.
| Day | Race | Winner |
|---|---|---|
| Wednesday | Alice Keppel Fillies’ Stakes | Wild Blossom |
| Wednesday | Oak Tree Stakes | Flora Of Bermuda |
| Thursday | HKJC World Pool Handicap | Exclusive Code |
| Friday | Golden Mile | Archivist |
| Friday | Fillies’ Handicap | Silver Lake |
| Saturday | Summer Handicap | Hopewell Rock |
| Saturday | Stewards’ Cup | Evening Saigon |
Following a blank opening day, Wild Blossom kicked off the Wathnan onslaught in the Alice Keppel Fillies’ Conditions Stakes, with fellow filly Flora Of Bermuda adding the Group 3 Oak Tree Stakes. HKJC World Pool Handicap winner, Exclusive Code, kept the tally ticking over on Day 3, before a second double arrived courtesy of Archivist (Golden Mile) and Silver Lake (British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies’ Handicap) on Day 4. Hopewell Rock claimed the opening Highclere Castle Gin Summer Handicap on the final day, with Evening Saignon making it a magnificent seven for the week in the valuable Stewards’ Cup Handicap.
Wathnan’s result was a real team effort, with the seven winners hailing from the yards of six different trainers. Summing up one of the most memorable weeks in the short history of Wathnan, racing advisor Richard Brown stated, “It’s our job to produce results like this. We know how hard it is, so when a week like this comes together it’s incredibly special.”
Crowley Calls It a Day
In the midst of the final day of the Qatar Goodwood Festival, one of the most talented riders of the modern era announced his immediate retirement.
A brilliant reception for a Goodwood great! Jim Crowley as his fellow jockeys cheered him out of the weighing room at Goodwood today.
A special moment for one of the weighing room’s most popular figures. Happy retirement, Jim! pic.twitter.com/pUKM308Mwv
— Goodwood Racecourse (@Goodwood_Races) August 1, 2026
One of the greatest jockeys to never win a Classic, Jim Crowley racked up 29 Group 1 wins over the course of his career. Among those to strike at the top table were the bullet-like Battaash, and the William Haggas-trained Baeed, whom Crowley singled out as the greatest horse he ever rode. Crowned British Champion Jockey in 2016, Crowley was appointed as the retained rider to powerful owner/breeder Shadwell Stud later that year, and carried the famous blue and white silks with distinction for almost a decade.
The decision to call it a day stems from a terrible fall at York on 7 September 2025, which left Crowley with internal bleeding and fractures to his pelvis, tibia and fibula. Despite five operations, Crowley has been unable to regain the physical fitness to return to the saddle at the top level. Announcing his retirement, the 48-year-old stated, “This has been the hardest decision of my life but after a great deal of thought I’ve decided the time has come to retire from race-riding.”
While his time as a jockey is at an end, Jim suggested that the next chapter in his racing life may be about to begin, “I’ve completed all my training modules, so I now have to apply to the BHA for a licence.” Hoping to start training with a team of all-weather runners over the winter, it may not be long before Crowley returns to the familiar surroundings of the winners’ enclosure.
