Yay! It’s Glorious Goodwood next week. Which reminds me that the Richmond family were breeding and racing horses when George I was still struggling with his English. They founded Goodwood races in the early 19th century.
I, on the other hand, am directly descended from one of the many illegitimate sons of George II, so it’s quite fitting that I became a carefree stable lad immediately after leaving ‘school’, while Charles Gordon-Lennox, 11th Duke of Richmond and Gordon, had to take his responsibilities rather more seriously when he left eight years before me.
Charles Richmond is now one of the most intriguing figures in British racing, the rarest of modern creatures, a man with enthusiasm and entrepreneurship coursing through his veins. The racecourse is but one string of his substantial bow; cars rather than horses are his true love. But the style with which he runs Glorious Goodwood is second to none.
The Duke is one of the most intriguing figures in racing, entrepreneurship coursing through his veins
He suggested we meet in his Mayfair club at noon to ‘put the racing world to rights’ over a sharpener. Admittedly I didn’t have my Sunday-best shoes on, but I didn’t fancy the rather snooty scrutiny the doorman subjected me to. Could he smell my jitteriness? Did he know I’m banned from the club? Of which the less said the better; suffice to say the incident occurred on foreign soil.
I may have forgotten to inform the Duke of those shenanigans when we made our assignation, relying on him not telling the receptionist my name, which thankfully worked a treat. ‘Broaks,’ I muttered in the lobby, in a gravelly voice. ‘Here to see the Duke.’ She didn’t suspect a thing. The club is the sort of place where minor public-school types in the bar try to ease their way into the deeper pockets of foreign gentlemen with entreaties like: ‘We really must see more of each other.’ I kept my head down.
I found the Duke in a private sitting room upstairs. He was in chipper form. ‘Gin and tonic?’ he suggested. But I could tell his heart wasn’t in it. So I went for English breakfast with a sparkling water chaser.
Goodwood means many things to its in-credibly diverse clientele. It caters for motoring enthusiasts (350,000 visitors a year), golfers, dog lovers (Goodwoof) and, of course, horse racing. The Duke has moulded 300 years’ worth of ancestral passions, with extraordinary attention to detail, into an awesome, entrepreneurial empire. Behind his urbane charm is a man relentlessly focused on innovation and endeavour. ‘I think globalisation is a huge opportunity,’ he has said. And that vision has metamorphosed into a proposal presented last week by Goodwood and York racecourses that would revolutionise the structure of British horse racing.
The plan involves tearing up the current structures and power bases and creating an elite panel which commercialises the big flat meetings. It’s not hard to envisage how things will change very quickly. The big flat courses will make appealing to the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s World Pool their priority, rather than worrying about the balance of the domestic race programme. The rewards for courses that can get their races used for international co-mingling pool betting are substantial.
It’s the equivalent of football creating the Premier League. The big courses will be able to package up their media rights and sell them either to sovereign wealth funds or private equity. And given that the Duke is a motor-racing man first and foremost, no doubt he will have had an eye on what has happened in Formula 1 since Liberty Media bought it.
In the past the Duke has been pretty blunt in his criticism of the structure of the British Horseracing Authority (BHA). ‘The right to veto was a disaster – nothing got done,’ was his view. Hence the current proposals to strip the Racecourse Association (RCA) of not only its ability to block change on the BHA board, but also its authority to strike commercial deals on behalf of the racecourses.
The Jockey Club racecourse group and Ascot had already put a gun to the RCA’s head, as far as stripping them of any power and influence. Goodwood and York have decided to pull the trigger before the RCA came up with its own proposals for reform. But the Duke of Richmond has heard enough talking: ‘We need globalisation. The top end of the sport will get to fly, given the opportunity to thrive and grow, because if we’re not in it, we’re going to fall behind.’
Listening to the Duke makes one realise that he’s a rebel at heart. He’s posher than the Establishment and his family have been around for quite a bit longer than the Jockey Club. But being immaculate, charming and aristocratic doesn’t mean that he doesn’t have a fiercely independent streak and an instinct bred into him for survival, even if it means leaving a few sheep out for the wolves.
What his pragmatism shows is his confidence that they know how to get results at Goodwood. The World Pool is obviously strategically important to him. And a new sponsorship commitment from Visit Qatar underpins Goodwood’s desire to be part of the global stage.
But his eyes really light up when he talks about his children’s enthusiasm for the sport and the prospects of getting more young racing at Goodwood. ‘I’m encouraged by how many young people want to come racing to have a fun, shared experience. We’ve got to encourage students that racing is a fun day out with their mates.’
At that point His Grace is reminded that it’s time to tip me out. Luncheon is about to be served. Obviously, I’m nosy enough to wonder who he’s eating it with, but they were tucked away in the bar, no doubt purloining a shooting invitation off ‘an old mate’.
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