Glorious day for Goodwood! The sun shines on revellers arriving in flamboyant hats and bold prints for day two

Glamorous racegoers opted for a flamboyant range of hats and eye-catching dresses as they stole the show at Glorious Goodwood today.

Bold prints, summer frocks and fancy fascinators were all on display as fashion-conscious women descended on the racecourse in Chichester, West Sussex.

The five-day meet, a highlight of the racing calendar, gives well-heeled fans an excuse to get dressed up in their finery for a day of action.

Attracting guests from up and down the country, as well as a celebrity or two, the famous racing event is considered one of the more relaxed meetings when it comes to the dress code, but that didn’t stop ladies from pulling out all the sartorial stops.

One woman made sure to command attention in a bright blue and pink floral dress, teamed with a fabulous, giant hat in matching colours.

Yellow outfits also seemed to be a theme of the day as racegoers enjoyed a sunshine-filled day at the racecourse amid the UK’s soaring temperatures this week. 

The Glorious Goodwood dress code celebrates ‘quintessentially British style’ which can be anything from high fashion to a more relaxed look.

In particular, the festival’s website previously noted the event is known for linen suits, Panama hats and chic dresses.

Attendees often dress up, with each enclosure having different dress codes on what you can and cannot wear.

In the Richmond Enclosure, gentlemen are required to wear a jacket and tie.

Meanwhile, the women are required to wear a garden party look, including a ‘floaty or floral dress, an elegant top and trouser/skirt combination that is suitable for England in summer’. 

The enclosure is relatively exclusive and available only to members and their guests, meaning people from other areas cannot enter.

Goodwood also recommends attendees ‘leave their stiletto heels’ at home as the uneven ground can be ‘tricky to walk on’.

There is no formal dress code in the Gordon Enclosure, but guests are encouraged to don smart, elegant attire.

The Lennox Enclosure also has no formal dress code; instead, racegoers are simply told to ‘dress suited to an afternoon’s racing’.

The weather this year marks a dramatic shift from the rainfall that guests battled during last year’s Goodwood.

A bearable drizzle soon turned into a full-blown torrential downpour and blustery gales, leaving racegoers scrambling for shelter on the racecourse during Ladies Day.

But it appears that there’ll be none of that this year, as the scorching summer continues in the UK, with temperatures expected to rise to 27C this week. 

‘The Qatar Goodwood Festival stages an exciting line-up of races, set against the impressive backdrop of Goodwood Racecourse,’ the website reads.

‘Steeped in racing heritage, Qatar Goodwood Festival always attracts the very best equine athletes from the UK and around the world, and the top flagship races per day.’ 

Explaining the racing, it adds: ‘With no fewer than 13 Group contests and three ultra-competitive Group 1s, with the feature being the £1.5 million Visit Qatar Sussex Stakes, it is clear to see why Qatar Goodwood Festival is one of the undisputed highlights of the Flat racing season.’ 

In addition to the racing action, guests also enjoy ‘exquisite dining in the Secret Garden, to the curated street food collection from KERB and Goodwood’s complimentary Strawberries and Cream’.