What is the longest race run at Brighton racecourse?

Brighton racecourse has stood in its current location, on Whitehawk Hill, a mile or so inland from the English Channel on the South Downs in East Sussex, since 1822. The modern racecourse is idiosyncratic, insofar that it is characterised by pronounced undulations and a noticeable camber towards the inside rail from the home turn, which can lead to bunching, especially among inexperienced horses. In addition, the winning post is the highest point on the course, with an uphill climb throughout the final quarter of a mile.

Nevertheless, one of the most unusual features of Brighton, when compared with other modern British racecourses, is that it is not a complete circuit. Historically, the racecourse extended an additional half a mile, towards Roedean Village on the outskirts of Brighton, to create a complete circuit two miles in length. Nowadays, the racing surface is restricted to a left-handed horseshoe, just under twelve furlongs in length, so the longest race run at Brighton is 1 mile, 3 furlongs and 196 yards, or just shy of a mile and a half.

What are the major races run at ‘Glorious Goodwood’?

Officially known as the Qatar Goodwood Festival, ‘Glorious Goodwood’ is a five-day meeting staged, as the name suggests, at Goodwood Racecourse in West Sussex in late July and early August. The major races run during the week are, in chronological order, the Qatar Goodwood Cup, the Qatar Sussex Stakes, the Qatar Nassau Stakes and the Unibet Stewards’ Cup.

The Qatar Goodwood Cup, run over 2 miles and open to horses aged three years and upwards, was awarded Group One status in 2017 and is worth £500,000 in total prize money. The Qatar Sussex Stakes, run over a mile and open to horses aged three years and upwards, has been a Group One contest since the introduction of the European Pattern Race system in 1971 and, nowadays, is considered the most prestigious race of the week at Glorious Goodwood. The Sussex Stakes is the first opportunity of the season for three-year-olds of the ‘Classic’ generation to take on older horses over a mile at the highest level and is worth £1 million in total prize money. The Qatar Nassau Stakes, run over a mile and a quarter and restricted to fillies and mares aged three years and upwards, was awarded Group one status in 1999 and is worth £600,000 in total prize money. Last, but not least, the Unibet Stewards’ Cup, inaugurated in 1840, is an ultra-competitive handicap, run over 6 furlongs, open to horses aged three years and upwards and worth £250,000 in total prize money.

Which was the last favourite to win the St. Leger?

Since the turn of the twenty-first century, no fewer than ten favourites – including Rule Of Law, who started joint-favourite in 2004 – have won the St. Leger.. Ironically, the shortest-priced favourite in that period – and, in fact, the shortest-priced favourite since Reference Point in 1987 – Camelot failed to justify odds of 2/5 when beaten three-quarters of a length by 25/1 outsider Encke in 2012. Camelot was attempting to become the first horse since Nijinsky, in 1970, to win the Triple Crown, but ran below his best and was easily seen off in the closing stages.

To answer the question, though, the last favourite to win the St. Leger was Logician, trained by John Gosden and ridden by Frankie Dettori, in 2019. Hitherto unbeaten, the Frankel colt had little trouble justifying odds of 5/6, readily asserting in the closing stages to win by two and a quarter lengths. Logician subsequently received treatment for peritonitis – a potentially life-threatening infection of the stomach lining – but fully recovered and remains in training as a four-year-old.

Which was the longest priced winner of the Derby ever?

The Derby, or Derby Stakes, to give the race its full title, was famously co-founded by Edward Smith-Stanley, Twelfth Earl of Derby and Sir Charles Bunbury, Senior Steward of the Jockey Club, in 1780. The Derby is, and always has been, a conditions stakes race, in which the weight carried by each horse is dictated not by its official rating, or handicap mark, but by the race conditions. Notwithstanding the fact that ‘handicapping’ did not exist until the mid-nineteenth century, it is still remarkable that, in 240 runnings, what has become the most prestigious race in Britain has produced three winners at 100/1.

The first of the triple-figure winners was Jeddah, trained by Richard Marsh and ridden by Herbert ‘Otto’ Madden, in 1898; his victory was apparently greeted with ‘solemn silence’. A decade later, Signorinetta, trained by Cavaliere Edoardo Ginistrelli and ridden by William Bullock, had the distinction of being just the fourth filly to win the Derby and, two days later, won the Oaks as well. Last, but by no means least, completing the unlikely trio came Aboyeur, trained by Tom Lewis and ridden by Edwin Piper, in 1913; in a race marred by fatal injuries to suffragette Emily Davison, Aboyeur, who originally finished second, in a blanket finish, was promoted to first place on the disqualification of 6/4 favourite Craganour.

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