🏇 Ascot’s Shergar Cup: The Full Report

How’s it going?

Still no rain – unless you live in the north.

The dry spell has seen plenty of winning favourites hurting the bookies in recent weeks – a theme that may well continue at Saturday’s Shergar Cup.

The Shergar Cup is an annual horse racing team event at Ascot.

Four teams of three jockeys compete across six races.

The first five horses past the post in each race are awarded: 15, 10, 7, 5 & 3 points – a bit like the Grand Prix. 

The team with the highest total after the sixth race wins the cup.

We hadn’t heard of half of these jockeys, but this year’s teams include:

Great Britain & Ireland 🇬🇧 

Saffie Osborne (captain)
Ryan Moore
Dylan Browne McMonagle

Europe 🇪🇺 

Christophe Lemaire (captain)
Marie Velon
Frida Valle Skar

Hong Kong 🇭🇰

Vincent Ho (captain)
Jerry Chau
Luke Ferraris

Rest of the World 🌎

Jamie Melham (captain)
Suraj Narredu
Yutaka Take

All six Shergar Cup races are live on ITV, and we’ve included each in our Super Trends – more on that later.

👉 Jockey Ryan Moore returns to the Shergar Cup for the first time in 20 years. He won the ‘Silver Saddle’ for top jockey in 2006.  

👉 Haydock is back. The troublesome hole has been filled in time for Saturday’s Group 3 Rose of Lancaster Stakes (2.25).   

👉 The Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes (1.55) headlines at Newmarket, where title-chasing jockey Billy Loughnane rode a hat-trick last Saturday.  

👉 Ayr’s evening fixture is the only course with ‘soft’ in its official going. 

👉 The Curragh’s Group 1 Phoenix Stakes for two-year-olds is on Sunday.   

👉 1,000 Guineas winner True Love heads back to Deauville on Sunday.    

👉 Constitution River will face Ombudsman in York’s Juddmonte International in 12 days – tasty.

Here goes …

🔢 Each of the last 32 Shergar Cup winners came from the first five in the betting – a return of 32 wins from 166 runs for a +£47 profit to a £1 stake. Those sixth or lower in the betting blanked at 0-143.

🔢 £1 staked on every favourite during the last 14 days on good to firm ground returned a +£12 profit – second favs weren’t far behind either (+£11).

🔢 Haydock’s Rose Of Lancaster Stakes went to the favourite in 4 of the last 6 years.

🔢 The last six runnings of Haydock’s 1m handicap (4.40) went to a 3yo - 6 wins from 19 with five placed (+£18 profit to £1 stake). 

🔢 Two in-form trainers whose A/Es currently remain high are Jennie Candlish (3 runners at Redcar) and James Tate (2 runners at Lingfield).

Featuring the latest big-race roll of honour alongside ten-year trends analysis, our ‘Super Trends’ reveal the key stats for all the big races.

Use these trends to find your own selections, or if you’re short of time and can’t access a formbook, check our short-list of selections below each race.

This Saturday we look at all six Shergar Cup races at Ascot.

🏅 All Ways Glamorous
🏅 Fandom
🏅 Fahrenheit Seven

🏅 Shrimp Shady
🏅 Pole Star
🏅 Dancing In Paris

🏅 Stem
🏅 Sportingsilvermine
🏅 Castle Stuart

🏅 Thunder Call
🏅 American Gulf
🏅 Havana Hurricane

🏅 Blue Hercules
🏅 King Of Berkshire
🏅 Archers Bay

🏅 Ebt’s Guard
🏅 Mister Winston
🏅 Bullet Point

According to AI, a purist is a person who believes in following strict rules, original forms, or traditional ways. They do not like changes, modern updates, or shortcuts. They want things to stay pure and correct.

Yeah, that’s pretty much The Purist.

And, here’s what The Purist has to say this week …

Before mentioning Saturday’s bets, a quick word about Realign in last weekend’s Stewards’ Cup. He was stopped in his run when making headway and is one to stick with, especially as he finished alongside Evening Saigon in the Wokingham beforehand – that rival actually won the Stewards’ Cup. Realign’s turn will come.

Onto Saturday …

Saturday’s cards lack the traditional ‘big Saturday fields’, but there is a nice mile handicap at Redcar I’m having a crack at, along with a couple near the shorter end of the market - it could be an afternoon for playing it safe with Ryan, Billy and Oisin.

Ascot 2.10 Shrimp Shady

I’ll be amazed if Ryan Moore leaves Ascot without riding a winner and I rate Shrimp Shady as one of his strongest chances. Trainer Andrew Balding always likes a winner at this meeting (16-95) and has an improving four-year-old who won over Newbury’s extended 2m last month, taking his record to three wins in his last five races. The comments during those close-margin wins were: ‘just held on’, ‘ridden out’ and ‘just held on’, suggesting he finds just enough under pressure – an ideal ride for Moore who enjoys squeezing every drop from these types.

Redcar 3.12 Illy’s Roo

Several runners are lumping big weights in this which could see a more unexposed three-year-old like Illy’s Roo take advantage of the 7lb allowance. Having arrived late under Joanna Mason to mow down Hambleton at York last month - the runner-up now rated 82 having improved to win in Ireland next time – Illy’s Roo was unsuited by the drop back to 7f at Ascot next time when not getting the best of runs late on. The return to a mile from a mark of 78 will suit, and he’s drawn right next to the only front-runner in the race (Sea The Power).

Ascot 3.20 Thunder Call

William Haggas is another trainer who enjoys a winner at this meeting (7-35), and I reckon he’s kept Thunder Call aside since his eyecatching third of 13 at Newmarket 30 days ago. Having improved to win both of his two previous starts this season, Thunder Call had to be switched to get a clear run in what is traditionally one of the strongest sprint handicaps of the summer at Newmarket’s July meeting, before powering into third – three places ahead of the sixth Ghost Mode, who since improved to win at Glorious Goodwood. 

Hopefully, Hong Kong’s leading jockey Jerry Chau will know more about how to ride Thunder Call on this track following his two earlier rides on the card – he’ll definitely want to impress his hero Ryan Moore …

Trainer Ian Williams spoke to At The Races about Ozat in the Mile (4.30) …

“Ozat didn’t get the run of the race the two runs ago at Sandown – he broke too well and did too much – but he was right back to himself at Goodwood last time despite getting no run on the inner and getting stopped numerous times inside the last two furlongs. It didn’t allow him to show his best ability so we are hoping a smaller field on a big wide open track should suit. Hopefully he will get a bit more luck on Saturday with Ryan doing the steering.”

Not only did we watch every race from Glorious Goodwood, but we spent this week in the office watching all the replays.

In the 5f to 1m handicaps, we added these horses to our database - most were unlucky-in-running and appear well-handicapped; either improving or down to a nice mark …

Adrestia, Colombier, Darkness, Defence Minister, Dubai Bling, Dyonisos, Go Rimbaud, Lexington Blitz, Manatee Mehmas, Naval Light, Proposal, River Spey, Rogue Attraction, Start Me Up, Startled, Storming Point, Tex, The Fingal Raven, Toca Madera, Wid.

📌 Go Rimbaud – from the above list of runners to follow from Goodwood – runs in Saturday’s 4.14 at Newmarket.

► ITV (free): Ascot: 1.35, 2.10, 2.45, 3.20, 3.55, 4.30; Haydock: 2.25, 3.00; Newmarket: 1.55

Next week is Ripon’s big day of the year with the Great St Wilfrid, plus the Hungerford Stakes at Newbury, along with the Grey Horse Handicap at Newmarket – yes, every horse in the race is grey/white 🎠

Until then…

..keep ‘em peeled 👀

The Paddock Report Team.

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