T
he third Duke of Richmond first brought horseracing to Goodwood in 1802. Now, 200 years on, the venue is
internationally acclaimed as one of the most beautiful racecourses in the world, famous for its picturesque views and elegance, replete with dramatic grandstand architecture and resplendent when in its ‘Glorious Goodwood’ finery.
The gusty conditions up on the Downs must always present a challenge, but more than capable of overcoming tricky topography is Goodwood's own whirlwind, clerk of the course Seamus Buckley, who breezes into the office ready for action. Fifteen years in the post, Seamus has the task of ensuring Goodwood maintains its status as a Group 1 course - the Premiership of horseracing - to help racegoers continue to enjoy one of our finest ‘flat’ courses.
Steeped in the sport, Seamus, 57, was
grounds manager at Epsom for fourteen years and three generations of his family have worked in the racing industry. “Horses are in the blood. It’s the only thing I ever thought I would do,” he beams.
He has not allowed disappointment to dent his ambitions though. Initially training for a career as a jockey, a serious injury put paid to his dream, prompting him to pursue another one in management. Voted best kept racecourse of the year by the Racecourse Association no fewer than four times in the last ten years,
and coming second five times, Goodwood has an enviable reputation to maintain. “This is one of the most beautiful courses in Europe and it’s a real pleasure to be able to work here and be given the task of making it look great,” says a clearly grateful Seamus. “We have twenty-three race days
throughout the year, with the beginning of May being one of our busiest times,” he continues, “with seven days of racing in that month alone. The winter is a tough time, usually, as we need to prepare the turf for the beginning of the season in spring.” The pressure to maintain a top course is not merely to attract the ‘punter’ and the corporate and social glitterati, Seamus stresses. In a sense, it’s the priceless thoroughbred horses that matter most. Without them there would be no spectacle. “The perfect flat racing conditions
are good to firm with a little moisture and a grass length of around four inches,” he explains. “We must maintain the turf correctly throughout the season as we are dealing with the safety of the horses and, potentially, their lives if the standards are not consistently good.” Part of his race day responsibilities involves answering to the sport’s governing body, the British Horseracing Association (BHA), to ensure those standards are being met. “They visit us four to five times a year to ensure we are up to scratch. We have to always ensure our standards are
high.”
Soil on the course is surprisingly sparse - a six-inch layer of topsoil over most of the length of the course, except out on the loops where he limits that to three or four inches, “although this makes it harder to maintain as the surface tends to dry out quickly”. Irrigation is on every groundsman’s
routine but, for racecourses, where a going that’s too hard or too soft can prove the deciding factor whether a horse runs or not, it assumes critically important proportions. “We irrigate constantly,” Seamus confirms. “Letting the course dry out means the circuit takes a lot longer to get back to normal. By regularly irrigating, vertidraining and aerating, we can avoid that happening.” “Roughly 10,000 gallons of water goes on along the three-mile length of the course. There is a definite science to irrigation. It needs to be done so that all areas of the course are well covered but that waste is kept to a minimum. If the surface isn’t soft and well-watered, trainers simply won’t run their horses on it - it’s too hazardous for them to risk a horse getting injured.” The boom sprayer Goodwood uses enables better water coverage than standard pop-up sprayers, which Seamus says are “particularly bad for wasting water and not giving a good even coverage”.
He is all praise for his kit. “The Upton self-propelled boom irrigator is a godsend. It’s self-driving and we simply attach it to the rails and it covers
Glorious Goodwood
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140