In the lull between the FIFA World Cup and the start of the Premier League season, horse racing steps up to deliver a selection of summertime sizzlers. The King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes took centre stage last weekend, while this week Goodwood stages one of the most iconic meetings on the calendar.
Officially titled the Qatar Goodwood Festival, but still Glorious Goodwood to many racing fans, this July highlight crams 38 races into its five days. Included in that number are a trio of Group 1 contests which attract the cream of the crop from the leading British and Irish yards.
John & Thady Gosden, Charlie Appleby, and Andrew Balding are among the British trainers making their final preparations. However, as tends to be the case ahead of any significant flat fixture, the man generating most of the hype is Ballydoyle supremo Aidan O’Brien. With an incredible 12 Group 1 wins already in 2026, including three at Royal Ascot, O’Brien has set his sights on further top-tier success in Sussex. With the following stars set to travel from County Tipperary, it would take a brave man to bet against O’Brien striking at least once.
Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup – Scandinavia Top of the Staying Mountain
- Previous Aidan O’Brien Winners – Yeats (2006, 2008), Kyprios (2022, 2024), Scandinavia (2025)
If the markets are to be believed, O’Brien’s best chance of a Goodwood Group 1 winner arrives in the feature event on the opening day. Having come out on top in a classic renewal of the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, 2025 champ Scandinavia returns to defend his crown in this 2m highlight. Arriving on a six-race winning streak, he is a perfect three-from-three in Group 1 company and the new king of the staying division. O’Brien won this twice with two of the greatest stayers of the modern era in Yeats and Kyprios. If Scandinavia comes home in front, he will move a step closer to being mentioned in the same breath as that supremely talented duo. At a general price of 10/11, there is every chance he will do just that.
The 2025 runner-up Illinois also holds an entry for O’Brien and would have solid place claims on his best form. However, he may be given more time to recover following his fifth-placed effort in the Curragh Cup earlier in the month.
Having lost out by just a head to Scandinavia at Ascot, Trawlerman is the biggest threat to the market leader. The winner of the Gold Cup and British Champions Long Distance Cup in 2025, he was successful on his only previous visit to Goodwood, and may improve for what was his first run in 243 days at the Royal meeting.
Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes – Gstaad to Turn the Tables?
- Previous Aidan O’Brien Winners – Giant’s Causeway (2000), Rock Of Gibraltar (2002), Henrythenavigator (2008), Rip Van Winkle (2009), The Gurkha (2016), Paddington (2023)
With six previous wins, Aidan O’Brien is only one behind Sir Henry Cecil in the all-time Sussex Stakes trainers’ table. Success in 2026 would see O’Brien draw level with the legendary trainer of Frankel.
With two days to go, O’Brien is responsible for three of the twelve entries. With Expanded beaten twice in Listed company this season, and True Love and Precise kept to fillies’ events, O’Brien’s remaining contenders are Gstaad, Puerto Rico and Dorset.
As a dual Group 1 winner, Puerto Rico possibly shouldn’t be dismissed entirely, but Gstaad is the clear yard number one. This ultra-consistent son of Starspangledbanner has now finished in the first two in all nine career starts, picking up big Group 1 wins in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf and Irish 2,000 Guineas. Unfortunately for Gstaad, he must face the only horse to have beaten him this season, with the George Boughey-trained Bow Echo currently perched atop the market.
Bow Echo is now unbeaten in five starts, but the gap between himself and Gstaad has been closing. A margin of 2¾l separated the pair in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, but the winning distance in the St. James’s Palace Stakes was just a short head. The third clash between two of the most talented milers in training promises to be a cracker.
Qatar Nassau Stakes – Another Sparkling Display from Star Filly?
- Previous Aidan O’Brien Winners – Peeping Fawn (2007), Halfway To Heaven (2008), Minding (2016), Winter (2017), Opera Singer (2024), Whirl (2025)
Two behind Sir Henry Cecil in the all-time Nassau Stakes list, O’Brien bids to join Cecil, John Gosden, and Sir Michael Stoute as the only trainers to win three consecutive editions of the 1m2f contest.
It has already been an excellent year for O’Brien’s three-year-old fillies, with wins in the 1,000 Guineas, Poule d’Essai Des Pouliches, Irish 1,000 Guineas, Prix de Diane, and Coronation Stakes.
Eight O’Brien runners remain in contention, but Beautify, Cameo, Composing, Moments Of Joy, and Sugar Island are all priced at 100/1, while Minnie Hauk and Precise are likely to head elsewhere. That leaves only one, but in Diamond Necklace, O’Brien has the filly they all have to beat.
Yet to taste defeat in five career starts, this daughter of Wootton Bassett is a dual Classic winner in France and handled the step up to this trip when claiming the Prix de Diane in June. Having passed that test, she now tackles her elders for the first time as she bids to confirm her superstar status.
Whether O’Brien picks up one, two, or three Group 1 winners remains to be seen, but it would be a surprise if he missed the target entirely at a meeting where he traditionally does well. The Qatar Goodwood Festival begins on Tuesday and concludes on Saturday.