With Royal Ascot 2019 now a distant memory are immediate attentions this weekend are drawn to Ascot. The Shergar Cup is held at Ascot every August and is a popular team competition featuring riders from all around the world.
British racing’s only event of its kind, the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup attracts top riders from across the globe to compete in four teams representing Great Britain and Ireland, Europe, Rest of the World and the Girls, each vying for valuable points in six competitive handicaps and the chance to lift the coveted Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Trophy.
It is wonderful to see a great champion like Shergar still being honoured this way. The four competing teams feature three riders each and the teams are as follows:
Great Britain & Ireland:
Danny Tudhope, Jamie Spencer, Tadhg O’Shea (capt)
Rest Of World:
Vincent Ho Chak-Yiu, Mark Zahra, Yuga Kawada (capt)
Europe:
Gerald Mosse, Cristian Demaru, Filip Minarik (capt)
Girls:
Nanako Fujita, Jamie Kah, Hayley Turner (capt)
Previous Shergar Cup Winners:
2014 Europe, 2015 Girls, 2016 Rest Of The World, 2017 GB & I, 2018 Girls
Shergar Cup: Format & Scoring
Six races make up the meeting, all with ten runners in each. Every rider will compete in five of the six races on the afternoon.
Points are awarded for positions 1 to 5. i.e 1st (15) 2nd (10) 3rd (7) 4th (5) 5th (3).
After all six races the team that has amassed the most points overall wins the Shergar Cup and the “Silver Saddle” award is given to the jockey who scores the most points of all.
1:05pm - The Dash
Danzeno will prove a popular choice in the opener. A seven-time career winner, he showed all his old zest when taking a hot 6f conditions race at Haydock Park when last seen out. The Michael Appleby-trained eight-year-old is versatile over both five and six furlongs and should figure in the points.
The Paul Midgely-trained Final Venture is rarely out of the frame these days and it would come as quite a surprise if he isn’t in the shake-up here.
1:40pm - The Stayers
Lorelina is usually the regular ride of Oisin Murphy and she boasts a 25% win strike rate so far in her career and is a winner on a variety of surfaces. The six-year-old is sure to give her pilot a decent spin in this unique contest.
Billy Ray was second in the Marsh Cup over 2m 110 yds last time and had a whole host of decent stayers behind him. It is very understandable that the Mick Channon-trained four-year-old is well fancied in the betting here.
2:15pm - The Challenge
Koeman should be a blast of a ride for Japanese riding sensation, Nanako Fujita in the Shergar Cup Challenge. The five-year-old is a previous course and distance winner and Fujita’s 3lb claim could prove invaluable come the business end of proceedings.
In form Mandarin will be an automatic placepot pick for many in this race and the five-year-old gelding has every chance of making it three on the bounce under the four-time Champion Jockey in Germany, Filip Minarik.
2:50pm - The Mile
Zhui Feng isn’t the most obvious pick in the race when you look at his current form figures but the six-year-old is a course and distance winner and runs at Ascot with regularity. This is the weakest race he has contested for some time and he can score some valuable points for the European team.
Power Of Darkness was a half-length winner at Salisbury last time and is attractively weighted for Vincent Ho.
3:25pm - The Classic
The Mark Johnston stable are hitting the winner’s podium with regularity at present and although Vivid Diamond is yet to win this season, she is certainly knocking on the door to do so.
Another Johnston runner who could well be the main danger to her stable mate is Sapa Inca who will be representing the Girls team. She’s never failed to finish in the first three on her last seven outings and should help the Girls tot up some more points on the afternoon.
The girls could well have a field day points wise in this race as Rowland Ward is in great heart at the moment and could well help Nanako Fajita earn the overall Silver Saddle prize on the day.
4:00pm - The Sprint
If the Shergar Cup all comes down to a nail biting finish on this final race then it will pay to have done your homework.
Victory Day is highly likely to go off the strongly backed favourite in the last and bring home maximum points for Jamie Spencer and the Great Britain & Ireland team.
If that team are in strong contention going into the last then it could well pay to also back Hero Hero here under Danny Tudhope.
With just two teamsters riding in the last, the Great Britain & Ireland team will be all out to capture the top two scoring berths in the lucky last.
Shergar Cup 2019: Overview
Although it is not everyone’s cup of tea, the Shergar Cup does hold a plethora of betting opportunities if you delve deep enough.
Given that the whole competition is based on team tactics and team instructions, it may pay to stick with your fancied team all afternoon and include their mounts in a range of bets, including singles, placepots and forecasts.
For the record, the 888sport horse racing team fancy for the cup this year is team GB & Ireland, by the narrowest of margins, and you can find their price here in the horse racing betting.
