The Ladies Team won the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup last year
The Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup, the world’s premier international jockeys’ competition, has again attracted top talent from around the globe.
Multiple Classic winner Seamie Heffernan, teenage sensation Billy Loughnane, and French Group 1 winner Marie Vélon are among the 12 jockeys confirmed to ride in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup at Ascot Racecourse, UK on Saturday, 10th August.
Vélon, the first French female jockey to win a Group 1 in her home country will join the Ladies’ team captained by the legendary Hayley Turner, making a record-extending 17th appearance in the competition. The team is completed by Saffie Osborne whose final race heroics secured the title for the Ladies last year.
The Rest of the World team will be captained by Australian-based five-time Group 1 winner Rachel King and will also feature Japanese rider Nanako Fujita who made her Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup debut in 2019. South African jockey Rachel Venniker, successful in over 250 races already at the age of just 23, completes the line-up.
Bauryzhan Murzabayev, from Kazakhstan and a four-time champion Flat jockey in Germany, captains the European team and will be joined by Italian Alberto Sanna, who has ridden more that 400 winners, including the 2000 Guineas in his native Italy twice in 2021 and 2022. Classic-winning Spaniard Jose-Luis Borrego, who has ridden almost 500 winners, also makes his debut in the competition.
The Great Britain & Ireland team, led by Dubai World Cup-winning jockey Tadgh O’Shea, will see Loughnane make his Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup debut as the 18-year-old’s meteoric rise continued with his first two victories at Royal Ascot in June. Loughnane’s youth will be combined with Heffernan’s experience, the 52-year-old bringing over 1,000 career victories, including both the Derby and the Oaks at Epsom.
In all nine countries will be represented by the jockeys across the four teams while new ground is broken this year with an equal number of male and female riders for the first time in the history of the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup.
Dubai Duty Free’s Managing Director Ramesh Cidambi said, “We are delighted that the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup continues to be an aspirational event for many of the world’s top jockeys, and we congratulate Ascot on once again bringing together a star-studded international line-up.”
A record GBP 500,000 will be on offer across the six race programme with prize money paid down to tenth place in each race. GBP 25,000 in stable bonuses is also available split between the three leading yards.
After racing, Sugababes will headline a concert line-up which also includes Ministry of Sound Ibiza Anthems ft. Ellie Sax, Scouting For Girls, and a DJ set from Denise Van Outen.