It's the first of five days of top-class flat-racing action at a venue many regard as the best in the world.

There's more than £2m prize money up for grab throughout the festival, and more than 100,000 racegoers are expected to pour through the gates to see the action unfold on the Downs.

We will have live updates on this website every day, with results and reaction as it comes in.

Feel free to join in - if you've got any hot tips for the remainder of the week to email them to us at sport@chiobserver.co.uk, and we will share them here.

There's some sun and some cloud, but so far not the showers which have been threatened.

The forecast is not what we'd expect or hope for during Glorious, but we might be lucky - and Friday looks like being the brighest day.

You can click here for Sussex Newspapers' exclusive Goodwood guide, featuring articles on betting, fashion and jockeys and interviews with some of the key people involved in Glorious.

And here's a reminder of our tips for today.


Drumfire won the Glorious Goodwood opener in 2min 06.92sec, Jimmy Fortune the first jockey to taste success.

Fortune said: "He is an absolute monster of a horse and he is such a strong galloper.

"He took a bit of time to wind up but I was pretty confident from a long way out."

Favourite-backers had their first success of the festival after that when Ryan Moore rode Harbinger to victory in the Betfair Gordon Stakes.

That provided Sir Michael Stoute with back-to-back Betfair Gordon Stakes following Conduit's win in the race last year.

Stoute was at Goodwood to see his success. He said: "I was highly delighted with the performance because he has had his muscle problems and they take time.

"He's not an elaborate home worker and that makes it very difficult to get an edge on him. He's lazy at home but he's a lovely horse. I loved the way he travelled, he's got some class.

"I don't know about the Leger, when you look at his pedigree it doesn't scream Leger horse.

The win was also the first success for this website's tips - see the link above for evidence.

The jockeys are loving clerk of the course Seamus Buckley's racing surface. Dale Gibson, one of the weighing room's best guides, told the Racing Post it was "perfect", while Paul Hanagan used the word "beautiful".

The Moore/Stoute partnership must have been confident of a further success in the Betfair Cup, the third race, but it was not to be as their charge Main Aim was well-beaten by Finjaan, ridden by Tadhg O'Shea.

Finjaan (5-1) continued the recent resurgence of trainer Marcus Tregoning's yard.

Tregoning said: "I absolutely love to win races at this meeting and it is our Ascot.

"The horses haven't been right but I always knew it would come right in the end so long as the owners stand by me, and Sheikh Hamdan has had plenty of experience of this with other trainers.

"Tadhg rode him in his last few pieces of work and was brimming with confidence and it helps me when riders are like that.

"I wasn't sure which Richard would ride and it was a difficult choice as Barry Hills' horses have been in amazing form all season, while mine haven't."

Balthazaar's Gift, a 25-1 shot, was second in the 7f Group 2 and Regal Parade (16-1) finished third.

Market leaders Main Aim and JJ The Jet Plane held the lead at the two furlong pole but then faded out of contention.

Richard Hughes, always a good performer at Goodwood, and someone who won 13 times at the track in 2008, had his first Glorious triumph of this year when he guided 10/11 favourite Monsieur Chevalier to victory.

Hughes said: "You seem like you're never going and all of a sudden when it matters, he comes good and he'll go wherever you want him to go.

"I was drawn a little bit wide and I wanted to go left to get a bit more cover and the horse to my left jumped a bit slow so I had to pull him back.

"All of a sudden I was eight lengths off the leader, which was not ideal but I had to make do and we got the job done."

But champion jockey Moore's afternoon took another upward turn when he brought home Manyriverstocross first in the Detica Summer Stakes.

That's two from two for Moore in terms of his runners we backed in our tips - linked above. And, to boast further, he and Hughes both feature as jockeys to watch in our Glorious guide - also linked above.

The biggest-priced winner of the day came in the penultimate race as Marajaa did the business at 12/1.

That race saw Martin Lane unseated from his mount South Cape in the early stages. The medical team were quickly on hand and he was soon receiving more attention in an ambulance. He was taken to St Richard's Hospital for a check-up on his neck.

Hughes almost followed Moore's example of a first-day double aboard Red Badge in the day's final race. The 6/1 shot was a shade behind Greg Fairley on Lowdown.

All in all, an absorbing opening day to the festival - with a nice mix of favourites doing well and unfancied runners coming through to take some of the honours.

So that's seven races gone ... just 28 to go. Join us on Wendesday for the Sussex Stakes and so much more. Two winning tips from seven for us - better than none, obviously.

Here are Wednesday's tips and if you want to get ahead, get a hat or click here for Thursday's tips.

Meanwhile, if you were at Goodwood for the opening day email ussport@chiobserver.co.ukto let us know what you thought.

Comments will be published on the site.

Results
2:10 | 1 Drumfire (J Fortune, 8-1 ); 12 Sweet Lightning (Martin Dwyer, 11-2 fav); 10 Royal Destination (Dale Gibson, 8-1 ); 14 ran. 2 Alfathaa (R Hills, 6-1 2nd-fav);
Distances: ½ length; Nose; 1¼ lengths;
Winning trainer: M Johnston.
Tote: £10.70; £3.60; £2.40; £3.20; Exacta: £62.00; Trifecta: £878.20; Swinger: £12.50; Swinger: £7.40; Swinger: £16.40; CSF: £50.67; Tricast: £369.20;

2:45 | 3 Harbinger (R L Moore, 11-4 fav); 2 Firebet (P Hanagan, 3-1 2nd-fav); 10 Urban Poet (Greg Fairley, 6-1 ); 9 ran.
Non-runners: Parthenon;
Distances: 1¾ lengths; Neck;
Winning trainer: Sir Michael Stoute.
Tote: CSF: £11.24;

3:25 | 8 Finjaan (T P O'Shea, 5-1 ); 2 Balthazaar's Gift (A Kirby, 25-1 ); 7 Regal Parade (A Nicholls, 16-1 ); 8 ran. 5 J J The Jet Plane (K Shea, 4-1 2nd-fav); 6 Main Aim (R L Moore, 6-5 fav);
Non-runners: Asset;
Distances: ½ length; 1 length;
Winning trainer: M P Tregoning.
Tote: £7.10; £2.10; £4.10; £4.00; Exacta: £140.20; Swinger: £21.00; Swinger: £16.60; Swinger: £16.20; CSF: £112.60;

4:00 | 7 Monsieur Chevalier (R Hughes, 10-11 fav); 6 Mister Manannan (A Nicholls, 8-1 joint-2nd-fav); 1 Archers Road (R L Moore, 8-1 joint-2nd-fav); 11 ran. 4 Iver Bridge Lad (M Halford, 8-1 joint-2nd-fav);
Distances:
Winning trainer: R Hannon.
Tote: CSF: £8.38;

4:35 | 8 Manyriverstocross (R L Moore, 5-1 fav); 7 Precision Break (Martin Dwyer, 20-1 ); 1 Drill Sergeant (Greg Fairley, 14-1 ); 14 ran. 9 Yes Mr President (N Callan, 11-2 2nd-fav);
Distances: Head; 1¼ lengths; ¾ length;
Winning trainer: A King.
Tote: £6.20; £2.50; £6.00; £5.00; Exacta: £127.10; Swinger: £22.60; Swinger: £36.40; Swinger: £18.60; CSF: £110.53; Tricast: £1,335.23;

5:10 | 12 Marajaa (C Catlin, 12-1); 13 Mister Dee Bee (M Hills, 11-2 fav); 6 The Which Doctor (R L Moore, 8-1 ); 20 Salient (Kirsty Milczarek, 20-1 ); 18 ran. 11 Wellington Square (G Baker, 13-2 2nd-fav);
Non-runners: Mull Of Killough; More Time Tim;
Distances: ¾ length; 1½ lengths;
Winning trainer: W J Musson.
Tote: £17.50; £3.60; £2.10; £2.20; £5.30; Exacta: £111.10; Swinger: £23.20; Swinger: £10.00; Swinger: £24.80; CSF: £72.37; Tricast: £420.99;

5:45 | 4 Lowdown (Greg Fairley, 2-1 fav); 7 Red Badge (R Hughes, 6-1 ); 2 George Benjamin (A Nicholls, 13-2 ); 9 ran. 1 Aetos (P Dobbs, 10-3 2nd-fav);
Distances: 1¼ lengths; 7 lengths; 1 length;
Winning trainer: M Johnston.
Tote: £3.30; £1.40; £2.10; £2.50; Exacta: £15.50; Swinger: £3.20; Swinger: £5.10; Swinger: £3.70; CSF: £14.78;
Jackpot: not won (pool of £41,731.67 carried forward to Goodwood) Placepot: £367.50 Quadpot: £142.60.

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