The Goodwood Stakes at Oak Tree
is an annual American Grade 1 flat horse race for thoroughbred
horses aged three years and up, and is run over 1 1/8 miles on a dirt
surface (Pro-Ride) at Santa Anita Park in California. The race carries a
purse of $500,000 and is run during the Oak Tree Racing Association.
The Goodwood Stakes is part of the 'Win and You're In' Breeders' Cup
incentive program and is run in late September each year at Santa Anita
Park, along with other 'Win and You're In' races. The Goodwood Stakes
got its name from the Goodwood Racecourse in the English city of
Chichester in West Sussex.
Inaugurated in 1982 as the Goodwood Breeders' Cup Handicap, in 2007 the
American Graded Stakes Committee upgraded the race from a Grade 2 to a
Grade 1 event and announced that its name would change to the Goodwood
Stakes in 2008. In 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1986 the race was run over 1
1/16 miles.
The fastest recorded time in the Goodwood Stakes is 1:46.72 over 1 1/8
miles which was set in 1994 by American stallion Bertrando. Lord At War
and Pleasantly Perfect are the only two horses to have each won the
Goodwood Stakes twice - in 1984 and 1985, and 2002 and 2003
respectively.
Trainer Charles Whittingham has the most wins in the Goodwood Stakes
with a total of five, in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1990 and 1991. Jockey Kent
Desormeaux has ridden four winners in the Goodwood Stakes in 1992, 1993,
1995 and 2001, as has fellow jockey Gary L. Stevens with wins in 1988,
1994, 1998 and 2005. |
