Get Set, Goat!

Tickets are on sale for the most exciting Varsity sporting contest of the year: the Oxford and Cambridge Goat Race. It takes place on the same day as the Boat Race at Spitalfields City Farm. The event is now in its fifth year, and Oxford have never won. Cambridge will seek to retain their title on Sunday 31^st March.

The goats will hit the racetrack (or goatorway) at 4pm. People are already speculating about which goats will race; hopes are high that Barney, Cambridge’s first ever competitor, will be good to goat once more this month. The farm had this to say:

“There have been rumours that Barney, the turbocharged pygmy goat who started Cambridge’s 4-year winning streak with his emphatic and unlikely win in 2009, is set to come out of retirement for this year’s race. Whilst we cannot announce the crews for this year’s race yet, we can confirm that we are in talks with Barney’s retirement home.”

Barney, however, was unavailable for comment.

Cambridge storming ahead

More than 1,600 fans turned up to watch last year’s epic battle. Cambridge’s goat came in at 1m 26s, with the Oxford challenger bumbling in after an embarrassing 4m 26s. It wasn’t our best run, as the current world record stands at 56.9s – which was set in 2011.

“I bloody love goats,” Pranjal Arya of Caius told The Tab. “I really hope we can win again, but also that Oxford put up a better fight this year.” Given the recent goat phenomenon sweeping across YouTube, the race is expected to garner more interest than ever before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLI4EuDckgM

When we asked Tab Sport Editor Sam Hobbs whether he thought the event was important, he said: “You’ve goat to be kidding. Is that a serious question? I am a goatie at heart, these boaties take themselves way too seriously.”

All the money raised will go to Spitalfields City Farm which is a registered charity. Get your ticket now here.