Equestrian
Grounds Manager and Clerk of the Course. This is his twenty-first season at the course and it’s been a dry one to say the least. He tells me that just 8mm of rainfall had been recorded over the preceding five weeks. “This year has been especially difficult with a late, cold spring and very dry spring and summer so far. Nature hasn’t helped our grass to grow. It’s the driest year in my time here,” he says. It’s always been a prime responsibility for
Seamus to see that the course is in nothing short of excellent condition with, as he puts it, “a surface that’s fair to everyone”. This year, however, there’s an added pressure on him and his grounds team. At the beginning of the year, Goodwood
Racecourse announced a 10-year partnership with the Persian Gulf state of Qatar. This is the single biggest sponsorship deal ever done for the benefit of British racing and the 2015 Glorious Goodwood meeting - now styled the
Qatar Festival - is the starting point. Qatar is initially investing over £4.5 million
in prize money for the four-day meeting and there is a commitment to increase this year- on-year. The Qatar Festival is going to be one of the most significant and valuable meetings in world racing. I get an idea of just how significant when I arrive at the course to discover that literally everyone there is in a meeting with Qatar representatives to run through fine details of the forthcoming festival. Seamus is a man that gives time and
attention to everything. He comes straight from this meeting and we are soon engaged in a relaxed chat about how the course is
being made ready for the off in, now, just a matter of days. He tells me that “hand on heart” he knows what he’s looking for, and that’s what every racehorse should be racing on. It’s so obvious that he does and, with thirteen Epsom Derbys under his belt, a combination of instinct, experience and knowledge exudes. His whole life has been
influenced by horses: how to look after them and how
Goodwood Racecourse
No dry run at Glorious Goodwood
PC AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2015 I 117
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