The 2018 Magnolia Cup charity race at Goodwood Racecourse will feature a field of strong, inspirational women from the worlds of business, sport, fashion, medicine and media, who will set aside their day jobs to become jockeys for the occasion.
Run at the Qatar Goodwood Festival, (known affectionately as ‘Glorious Goodwood’), on Ladies’ Day, August 2, the Magnolia Cup is now in its eighth year and has raised over £1.2million for a number of charities since its inception. The race itself is run over five-and-a-half-furlongs down Goodwood’s straight in front of a capacity crowd of 25,000 and the riders will need nerves of steel, especially as most of those taking part had never set foot in a racing yard before their training started.
For the first time this year, each rider will wear a bespoke jockey silk designed exclusively for the Magnolia Cup by Iranian/Swedish fashion designer and women’s rights activist Morvarid Sahafi. Morvarid’s designs for her brand, Morv London, reflect female empowerment and are inspired by the Suffragette movement, in fitting support of the values of the Magnolia Cup.
This year, the Magnolia Cup will support Cancer Research UK, the world’s leading cancer charity dedicated to saving lives through research. Its pioneering work into the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of cancer has helped save millions of lives and has been at the heart of progress that has already seen survival in the UK double in the last 40 years. The charity is continuing to tackle women’s cancers on all fronts – helping to prevent and improve the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer and gynaecological cancers.
Fundraising takes place through race and horse sponsorship, as well as at the Regency Ball, a stunning Regency-themed banquet and party held at Goodwood House the evening after the Magnolia Cup.
This year’s inspiring riders will be:
Lady Alice Manners – Sunday Telegraph Columnist and Personal Shopper
Dr Amanda Cross – Cancer Researcher at Imperial College London, funded by Cancer Research UK
Camilla Hickish – Trainee Doctor and Cancer Survivor
Emily Baxendale – Founder and Creative Director, Emily-London milliners
Holly Thomson (Hollie-Ella) – Director & Editor of In The Country Magazine & Blog
Katie Forrest – Director at The Edit Design Agency
Melissa Margolis – Assistant Program Director of PDP (Prostitution Diversion Program), Los Angeles, Ca.
Rosie Tapner – British Fashion Model and Student at Oxford Brookes University
Sarah Cook – Sport Secretary, Daily Mirror & Sunday Mirror
Shadi Halliwell – Chief Marketing Officer, Three
Lady Tatiana Mountbatten – Professional Dressage Rider and Tech Start-Up Founder
Victoria Gray – Lifestyle Director, Sunday Express S Magazine
