Tom Marquand with the lowdown on his Goodwood chances as he bids for another glorious week

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It feels as though Royal Ascot was just last week but we now find ourselves on the eve of Glorious Goodwood and there will be few people more excited than last year's leading rider Tom Marquand.

The jockey rode four winners last season, including when stealing the show from the front aboard Quickthorn in a surreal running of the Goodwood Cup and when producing another brilliant ride on the King and Queen's Desert Hero in the Group 3 Gordon Stakes. 

"I've always loved it there," says Marquand. "I was an apprentice with Richard Hannon and Goodwood was always one of the big weeks of the year with lots of runners. It's a unique track with a great atmosphere and I've had a lot of luck at the meeting."

What is it about riding at Goodwood that makes it unique? "It's a thinking track," says the jockey. "If you go to sleep, races can slip away very easily and the best horse doesn't always win there, which can be horrendous, but other days you manage to pinch an inch at the right time and it's enough to win a race on one who might struggle to win at the same kind of level at a different track."

You might imagine having so many winners last season would bring an extra layer of pressure this week but Marquand, who also ended the year as the track's overall leading jockey with ten winners, adopts a philosophical view. At a track where the draw is especially important and where it is all too easy to meet trouble in running, the jockey knows that absolutely nothing can be taken for granted.

Quickthorn and Tom Marquand complete a remarkable victory in the Goodwood CupCredit: Edward Whitaker

"It's similar to Royal Ascot," he adds. "The reality is you probably never walk away fully satisfied because you're always going to feel like something could have gone differently. Success is having a week in which nothing goes wrong and you've given them all a chance. You then just hope it culminates in having a few winners but these big weeks are tough with so many good horses running."

Marquand is pencilled in for five rides on the opening day, most notably aboard Tiber Flow in the HKJC World Pool Lennox Stakes (3.00). The five-year-old bounced back from a fall at York when winning the John of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock last month.

"He's a solid horse to look forward to," says Marquand. "He's a warrior, getting up after York and doing what he did at Haydock. He ran a huge race. He was supposed to run at Newmarket last month but didn't go because the ground was very fast. He's in great order."

The second day also promises to be busy with a ride aboard the Ed Walker-trained Celandine in the Jaeger-Lecoultre Molecomb Stakes (3.00). After winning a Listed race at Newmarket, she was last seen finishing third against the colts in the Prix Robert Papin at Chantilly.

"That was a big run in France earlier this month and she was only narrowly beaten," says Marquand. "She should get her favoured fast ground and will hopefully have a really solid chance."

Marquand will then partner Queen Anne third Maljoom, who takes on the top three-year-old milers in the Qatar Sussex Stakes (3.35). It looks likely to be one of the races of the week with British and Irish 2,000 Guineas winners Notable Speech and Rosallion still in contention alongside Henry Longfellow and Facteur Cheval.

Maljoom and Tom Marquand are set to contest Wednesday's Sussex StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

"It's going to be a tough race but I suppose except for City Of Troy in the Eclipse it will be the first time the Classic generation will be properly tested against the older horses," says the jockey. "It will be interesting to see how they stack up. Maljoom could be fitted with headgear, which could make the difference after a big run at Ascot."

Marquand has a number of promising rides throughout the week, particularly on Friday, when he is set to partner the returning My Prospero, last seen in October, Perotto in the Coral Golden Mile (3.00) and Big Evs in the King George Qatar Stakes (3.35).

Before then the jockey will trade four legs for four wheels at one of the track mornings offered to a group of jockeys and trainers by the organisers. "I'd say I'm a bit of a petrolhead," says Marquand. "The Duke of Richmond is very sporting in allowing us to spend some time burning around the motor circuit. I always look forward to it." 

Read these next:

What's on this week: a Glorious week as Goodwood and Galway take centre stage 

Sangster unearths more Classic hopefuls - three things we learned this week 

Racing Post Members' Club: 50% off your first three months 

The Front Runner is our unmissable email newsletter available exclusively to Members' Club Ultimate subscribers. Chris Cook, the reigning Racing Writer of the Year, provides his take on the day's biggest stories and tips for the upcoming racing every morning from Monday to Friday. Not a Members' Club Ultimate subscriber? Click here to join today and also receive our Ultimate Daily emails plus our full range of fantastic website and newspaper content.