UK. Dubai Duty Free is set to host the prestigious Shergar Cup this weekend at Ascot Racecourse, an event that will further boost the company’s profile as a major supporter of international sporting events.
The Shergar Cup, the world’s leading international jockeys’ challenge, takes place on Saturday, 6 August. Three top riders in each of four teams – Great Britain & Ireland, Europe, the Rest of the World and The Girls – will compete in a six-race competition.
The Girls team is captained Canada’s most successful female rider, Emma-Jayne Wilson, a Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup regular who led The Girls to an historic win in 2015.
Wilson, who will be making her fifth appearance in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup on Saturday said: “The best part of winning last year for me was that we had such a tremendous effort the year before to come so close, being beaten by one point. To come back and blow the doors off in 2015 was very redeeming.”
Wilson is joined by Hayley Turner, the most successful female jockey in British racing history who has come out of retirement to ride at the event for the tenth time, and Josephine Gordon, making her Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup debut.
Turner said: “I had a complete break from November until the first of April, when I started riding out again. The Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup is a great event to come back for. It is my favourite race day of the year and so it is great to be able to come back for it. It is an event that really helped my career in that it gives you so much exposure.”
Brazilian-born Silvestre De Sousa, the reigning champion jockey in Britain, leads the Rest of the World team, which also features leading Japanese rider Kenichi Ikezoe and South African ace Gavin Lerena. All three are making their debuts at the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup.
Team Europe is captained by Frankie Dettori, who will be making his tenth appearance at the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup. The Italian, who is rapidly approaching 3,000 winners in the UK, is joined by two of France’s leading jockeys in Pierre Charles Boudot and Thierry Jarnet, who are both riding in the competition for the first time.
Debutants also feature among the Great Britain & Ireland team which is led by Joe Fanning, long-associated with the powerful Mark Johnston stable. Fanning is joined by Martin Harley, who landed the 2015 King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot on Goldream and Oisin Murphy, who is retained rider for Qatar Racing Limited.
Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman & CEO Colm McLoughlin said: “The line-up looks as strong as in any previous year and we are particularly pleased to welcome back two magnificent crowd pleasers in Frankie and Hayley, both terrific ambassadors for the sport who can now be regarded as Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup veterans with ten competitions each to their credit.
“The Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup provides racegoers with a unique opportunity to see some of the world’s most accomplished riders brought together at an iconic venue in the true spirit of international competition.”
Away from the track, the racing will be followed by Ascot Live, a free concert for racegoers featuring Ronan Keating, Gabrielle, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Lawson and the Music Of Queen.
