The Goodwood Handicap is a Gr 1 Australian horserace at set
weights with penalties and is contested at the end of April each
year at Morphettville Racecourse in Adelaide over 1200m. Prior to
2006, the Goodwood Handicap was contested in May each year. The race
currently offers a purse of AUD$300,000.
Like many horse races in Australia, the Goodwood Handicap has a long
and rich heritage after it was inaugurated in 1881. In that year,
the race was won by D.O.D. and, since then, the race has attracted a
slew of top runners from Adelaide and beyond. Up until 1972, the
race was contested over 6 furlongs.
In 1946, Royal Gem won the Goodwood Handicap in fine style, becoming
one of the most popular Australian thoroughbreds during that period.
In the same year Royal Gem won the Caulfield Cup. He also won the
Futurity Stakes and the Newmarket Handicap. When he retired, he had
23 wins from 51 starts to his name.
In 2007 the Goodwood Handicap reverted to set weights and penalties
after previously being a pure handicap. That year the race was won
by six-year-old gelding, Let Go Thommo, trained by S J Ryan and with
top jockey Steven R. King aboard. Carrying a weight of 55.5 kg, he
beat out 19 other starters.
The 2008 Goodwood Handicap proved to be an exhilarating affair, when
five-year-old gelding Shadoways crossed the line first with jockey
Mark Pegus aboard. Carrying a weight of 54kg, Shadoways also beat 19
other runners. |
