Two of the most eagerly awaited racing festivals of the summer months take place in the same week each year.
Galway Races and Glorious Goodwood both take place at the beginning of August each year and attract huge crowds of both racing fans and casual visitors.
While these two festivals are obviously primarily about horse racing there are many ways in which they differ.
Firstly, Galway Races takes place on the west coast of Ireland close to the city of the same name and runs for a mammoth 7 straight days, from Monday 29 July through to Sunday 4 August.
Goodwood on the other hand, is situated 60 miles south-west of London near the south coast of England and lasts for 5 days from Tuesday 30 July until Saturday 3 August.
Both race meetings have a long and colourful history. Goodwood races first took place on the Sussex Downs in 1802 and one of the current races, The Stewards' Cup, dates all the way back to the first public race meeting held at the venue.
Records of organised race meetings in the County of Galway date back to the thirteenth century, but the first race meeting at the current location of Ballybrit took place in 1869. It was just a two-day meeting that first year and attracted crowds of over 40,000.
Over the centuries Goodwood’s meeting has developed into a high quality affair with prestigious Group One races on the Flat such as the £1 million Sussex Stakes and the Nassau Stakes.
Galway is a mix of Flat and Jumps racing with the two highlights of the week being National Hunt handicap races, The Galway Plate, and over hurdles, The Galway Hurdle. Each of the two big races at Galway have prize funds of €270,000.
Bookmakers are taking no chances with Irish 2000 Guineas winner Rosallion in the featured Sussex Stakes at Goodwood next Wednesday and have installed the Richard Hannon trained colt as their even money favourite to complete a hat-trick of Group One victories.
Last year’s winner of the Tote Galway Plate, Ash Tree Meadow, is as big as 20/1 to repeat the feat next week. In Excelsis Deo, trained by Harry Fry, heads the market at 7/1. If successful the 6-year-old would be the first foreign-trained winner since Paul Nicholls sent over Oslot to win the race in 2008.
Champion trainer Willie Mullins was also Leading trainer at Galway last year and bookmakers make his Daddy Long Legs their 7/1 favourite to win Thursday’s Guinness Galway Hurdle. Willie Mullins has won this competitive race a remarkable five times in the last eight years.
Check Galway Races Tips and Trends for this year's festival, from our Irish Racing Experts.
