Guide to the 2019 Shergar Cup

The focus on individual brilliance in recent weeks in both the King George and at Glorious Goodwood on ITV shifts to team glory this weekend with the 2019 Shergar Cup providing six live races.

First held in 1999 at Goodwood, the event has been held at Ascot every year (except 2005) since. A hugeful popular event which upwards of 30,000 people attend, the prize money now stands at £60,000 for each race, increased from £45,000 last year.

Here we profile each of the twelve riders and have a look at the six races. As usual, our ITV tips are available on site as well as for the other Saturday races on our Free Horse Racing Tips page.

GIRLS

Hayley Turner (C) – Last year’s winning team is led by Turner who won the Silver Saddle (leading rider) award in 2018, only out of the first three on one of her five mounts. A three time winner at the highest level, she has ridden fifteen winners in the UK this year, most notably Thanks Be in the Sandringham.

Jamie Kah – The twenty-three-year-old landed the record for the most winners by a female jockey in Australia in 2016-17 and gained her first victory at Group One level in the Ausralia Cup in March.

Nanako Fujita – Having ridden 92 winners already in her career, Fujita is no stranger to success away from her native Japan. She won the Women Jockeys’ World Cup in Sweden earlier this year and claims a valuable three pounds.

Number of Victories – 2 (2015, 2018)

Number of race wins last year – 2 (Tis Marvelous Hollie Doyle, Via Serendipity Hayley Turner)

EUROPE

Filip Minarik (C) – The Czech born Captain of the European side has been based in Germany since 2000, where he has won the Jockey Championship four times. More than 1,500 career winners include fourteen at the highest level.

Gerard Mossé – The globetrotting Frenchmen has been riding since 1983. He has ridden seventy-three winners in the UK over the past three seasons, including landing the 2018 and 2019 Lennox Stakes’ onboard Sir Dancealot, and has won the Shergar Cup twice previously.

Adrie De Vries – Having won the Jockey Championship at home in the Netherlands twelve times, De Vries currently rides mostly in Germany. He captained the European side in 2017, winning the Stayers’ Handicap onboard Euchen Glen.

Number of victories – 4 (2000, 2008, 2013, 2014)

Number of race wins last year – 2 (Cleonte Per-Andres Graberg, Genetics Andrasch Starke)

REST OF THE WORLD

Yuga Kadawa (C) – The second Japanese rider taking part, he is one of a select few of riders to win all five Japanese Classics. He partnered up with Roger Varian last summer, for whom he rode four winners from thirty rides.

Mark Zahra – A multiple Group One winning jockey, Zahra is making his debut in this Shergar Cup along with his compatriot Jamie Kah. A period as Godolphin’s second choice jockey saw him take rides on a number of Australia’s best horses, including Sepoy.

Vincent Chak-Yiu Ho – The twenty nine year old has rode over 250 winners in his native Hong Kong and won on his British debut for Mark Johnston in 2018. He arrives at the Shergar Cup having won onboard two of his last three rides since arriving in the UK.

Number of victories – 6 (2001, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2012, 2016)

Number of race wins last year – 2 (Berkshire Blue/Green Power Joao Moreira)

GB & Ireland

Tadhg O’Shea (C) – Bizarrely enough for the Captain of the domestic team, O’Shea’s name might not be as familiar as others. He is a prolific winner in the United Arab Emirates, where he has won seven Jockey Championships.

Danny Tudhope – Title-chasing Tudhope is having a season to remember, having recently ridden his 1,000th winner in the UK and having won four races at Royal Ascot, including the Queen Anne on Lord Glitters.

Jamie Spencer – A winner of four Classics, he doesn’t need much of an introduction. Spencer has ridden two Group One winners this year including the Irish 2,000 Guineas onboard Phoenix Of Spain.

Number of victories – 3 (2002, 2006, 2017)

Number of race wins last year – 0

Points are awarded to the first five horses home as follows: 1st – 15 points, 2nd – 10 points, 3rd –  7 points, 4th – 5 points, 5th – 3 points. If there is a dead-heat then the points for the first and second are added together and split between the respective teams.

• 1.05 – Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Dash (Handicap) Cl2 (3yo+ 0-105) 5f – Both Danzeno and Corinthia Knight have won two of their last three starts and are mounts for the European team.
• 1.40 – Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Stayers (Handicap) Cl2 (4yo+ 0-100) 2m – Danny Tudhope rides Billy Ray who only found Withhold too good in the Marsh Handicap at Newbury last month.
• 2.15 – Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Challenge (Handicap) Cl3 (4yo+ 0-95) 1m4f – Ian Williams’ Mandarin arrives here seeking a hat-trick and is ridden by Filip Minarik.
• 2.50 – Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Mile (Handicap) Cl2 (4yo+ 0-100) 1m – C Y Ho is onboard the progressive Power Of Darnkess, who gained his third win in seven starts at Salisbury last time.
• 3.25 – Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Classic (Handicap) Cl3 (3yo 0-95) 1m4f – Hayley Turner rides the reliable Sapa Inca who is yet to finish out of the first three in seven handicap starts and Nanako Fujita offsets a three pound penalty for a recent Polytrack win by Zuba.
• 4.00 – Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Sprint (Handicap) Cl2 (3yo 0-100) 6f – Second in a twenty two runner race on handicap debut, Jamie Spender will attempt to take Victory Day one better here.

Every LIVE Saturday race covered on ITV can be found on our ITV Racing Tips section, with runner-by-runner previews for each contest.