Sunny afternoons and sea breezes: racing in Del Mar and Deauville – on the eve of Glorious Goodwood

As July sleepily turns into August, racing heads for the coast, taking Wathnan with it. The five-day Qatar Goodwood Festival, Glorious Goodwood, begins on Tuesday with as many as two dozen Wathnan representatives on the Sussex Downs just inland from Selsey Bill and the English Channel.

Meanwhile, across the water, the Deauville summer meet is already underway. Our Sunday runner, Columnist, journeyed down from Yorkshire and ran an honest third in the Group 3 Prix de Cabourg for two-year-olds, challenging down the centre of the track while the winner sped up the rail.

Sunday afternoon racing in California was held at Del Mar, ‘where the turf meets the surf’, a racetrack so close to the Pacific it could almost wiggle its toes in the waves. Three-year-old colt Parenting – debuting in our silks in a competitive allowance against older horses – saw off all challenges to record his third win from three starts. Impressive.