Mem004

Report by Christine Howell:

'Glorious Goodwood' - well, it certainly lived up to its name on Friday evening, 28th July,
my first visit to Goodwood races. The sun shone, the grass was clipped and gleaming,
and the breathtaking views were misty and romantic. The magnificently groomed horses
parading in the paddock added more lustre to the evening.

Well, I did not lose my shirt, but I hope I came away slightly wiser. A young man tipped
me the winner, Jawhari for the first race, so I backed the loser and went to watch the
race.

Most of my time was spent watching individual horses with their tiny colourful riders,
cantering round the racecourse to the start which was a long way off and from various
positions. This took quite a long time, as did persuading the horses into their starting
gates. The actual race passed in a flash of colour on top and lots of stick thin legs
below.

During the interval we met up with some of the other Twinners, but it was so crowded
we lost them in the throng probably because gambling fever struck and we had to place
our bets. After that I did not glimpse anyone else I recognised. In the second race my
first impulse was to back Parisian Star but, having been advised to follow Harry's Hot
Shots, I backed 'Prairie Wolf' who came nowhere. I got second place Deco Star in the
third race and made 80p! Backed the third horse, Wannabe Around, in the fourth.
Backed the loser, Allergy, in the fifth and got it right on the favourite, Monsieur Boulanger,
in the last race consisting of only four horses. I decided, having lost around seven
pounds, that racing was a mug's game. I did meet an elderly gent who was up over one
hundred pounds, so maybe I did something wrong.

I thoroughly enjoyed the evening and I trust everyone else who went felt the same, I hope
they had better luck than me!