![Extragalactic was just beaten in the Group 1 Goodwood by Desert Lightning [Rising Sun Photography]](https://betsy.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/20260509-1060-e1778482740943.jpg)
The time-honoured Goodwood can remain a Group 1 race of national significance, despite a 2026 edition that rated down on the 10-year average.
That’s the view of Racing SA CEO Nick Bawden, who said his team won’t rush to a “kneejerk reaction” and will instead review the timing, prizemoney, conditions and recruitment process for the state’s premier sprint race.
The only previous G1 winner in the field, Desert Lightning, won a thrilling Goodwood at Morphettville earlier this month, edging out emerging filly Extragalactic by a pixel in a tight photo finish.
The performance was given a 97 WFA performance rating by astute form analyst Daniel O’Sullivan – almost two lengths below the race’s 10-year average of 101.4 and comfortably behind recent winners Reserve Bank (100.5) and Benedetta (102.5)
Bawden conceded that the race lacked a genuine headliner this year, although he said it still delivered a thrilling spectacle.
“We look at it all the time and we’ll be doing that again off the back of the Carnival,” Bawden said.
“The conditions of the race (set weights and penalties) can still attract those top-class sprinters and we think the $1 million is still a big carrot.”
“Maybe luck wasn’t on our side this year (to attract a headline sprinter) but I think overall we’ve got to make sure that we don’t make a knee jerk reaction.”
“It’s historical race of significance and one that can still have its own window and relevance.”
The conditions of the Goodwood were changed from handicap to set weights and penalties in 2007, paving the way for household names Takeover Target, Black Caviar, Vega Magic, Amelia’s Jewel and Giga Kick to tackle the race since.
In recent years, three-year-olds have played a bigger role in the race and Bawden said this was the desired outcome of a tweak in the handicapping conditions.
The race presents as a suitable Group 1 target for three-year-olds colts to bolster their CV for a possible commercial stud deal and Bawden hopes it can increasingly be viewed as such by trainers in Melbourne and Sydney.
“The conditions were changed two or three years ago which put those three-year-olds in a little more favourably,” he said.
“I like it and I think it’s been good for the quality of a race like the Tobin Bronze, which has become one of the highlights of Oaks and Sangster Day, outside of those two Group 1 races.”
