Love it, or hate it – it’s Shergar Cup day at Ascot this Saturday.
In case you’re not familiar with how the Shergar Cup works, we’ve four sides – Europe, Great Britain & Ireland, The Girls and Rest Of The World.
With three jockeys in each side fighting it out for best finishing to gain points for their teams – the side with the most points after the last race win the Shergar Cup.‘The Girls’ that took the prize last year, so can they follow-up?
The ITV Racing cameras will be at Ascot for all six races, while, on a jam-packed afternoon, they are also at Haydock for three races, that include the Rose Of Lancaster Stakes, plus are taking in the Group Three Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket.
We’ll be highlighting our TOP FOUR trends to look for from the ITV Racing and putting them in a big-priced ‘Cracker Acca’ – plus, giving you the ‘best of the rest’ trends from around the other tracks this Saturday.
Plus – don’t forget, you can also get more help finding the winner for all this Saturday’s races on our Free Horse Racing Tips page.
1.05 Ascot: Trainer Robert Cowell has won three of the last nine runnings
We can hopefully get off to a decent start with the Robert Cowell-trained Encore D’Or in the opening race at Ascot .
It’s a contest the yard landed in 2010, 2014 and 2015 – Danny Tudhope will be riding for the ‘Great Britain and Ireland’ team.
2.30 Haydock: Trainer William Haggas has won two of the last five renewals
We are up to Haydock for the next selection with the unbeaten William Haggas runner, Miss O Connor, the horse of interest.
The yard targeted this race with success in 2014 and 2017 with similar fillies and after an easy eleven-length win at Nottingham last time this four-year-old looks worthy of the leap into Listed grade.
2.50 Ascot: Via Serendipity won this race twelve months ago
Back to the Shergar Cup action at Ascot, and it’s actually the horse that won this race last year – Via Serendipity – that catches the eye.
He’s the only course and distance winner in the field and line-up again this year on exactly the same rating.
3.45 Newmarket: Godolphin have won five of the last ten renewals.
We end the ‘Cracker Acca’ at Newmarket in the Group Three Sweet Solera Stakes. It’s a contest the ‘boys in blue’ of Godolphin love to go for – they’ve won the prize five times between 2009 and 2013.
Their Light Blush will be hoping to add to that fine record and having already won over this course and distance that will surely be a big plus.
2.15 Ascot: The Andrew Balding-trained Genetics won this race last year.
2.00 Newmarket: The Charlie Appleby yard have a 30% record with their two-year-olds at the track.
2.35 Newmarket: The Charlie Appleby yard have a 30% record with their two-year-olds at the track.
3.10 Newmarket: Jockey Robert Havlin has 27% record riding three-year-olds at the track, while trainer John Gosden has a 23% strike-rate with the same age group.
4.20 Newmarket: The horse from stall one has won four of the last nine runnings.
3.05 Haydock: The Owen Burrows yard have a 33% record with their runners at the track.
4.45 Haydock: The Clive Cox yard have a 24% record with their runners at the course.
1.15 Redcar: The Archie Watson yard have a 36% record with their two-year-olds at the track.
3.30 Redcar: The Ruth Carr yard have won two of the last six runnings.
4.05 Redcar: The William Haggas yard have a 47% record with their three-year-olds at the track.
4.35 Redcar: The Tim Easterby yard have won three of the last six runnings.
3.20 Chelmsford: The Ian Williams yard have a 44% record with their three-year-olds at the track.
5.10 Lingfield: The Sir Mark Prescott yard have a 47% strike-rate with their three-year-olds at the track.
5.45 Lingfield: The William Haggas stable have a 38% record with their three-year-olds at the track.
6.15 Lingfield: The Richard Hannon yard have won the last two renewals.
6.45 Lingfield: The William Haggas stable have a 38% record with their three-year-olds at the track.
7.45 Lingfield: The Richard Spencer stable have a 43% strike-rate with their four-year-olds or older at the track.
7.25 Ayr: The Keith Dalgleish yard have won three of the last seven runnings.
Every LIVE Saturday race covered on ITV can be found on our ITV Racing Tips section, with runner-by-runner previews for each contest.