Winners with the Dubai Duty Free officials during the presentation ceremony.

Gulf Today, Staff Reporter

A crowd of more than 25,000 enthusiastic racegoers attended the 22nd Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup meeting at Ascot Racecourse recently. The attendance figure puts the world’s premier international jockeys’ competition second only to the Royal Meeting as Ascot’s most popular raceday.

Four teams, Ladies, Europe, Rest of the World and Great Britain & Ireland, each composed of three renowned jockeys from around the racing world go head-to-head in six competitive ten runner handicaps each carrying prize money of £80,000.

The international focus of the event was highlighted in the first race, the Dubai Duty Free Dash over five furlongs. Rogue Lightning, the clear-cut winner was ridden by Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup debutant, Japanese jockey Kazuo Yokoyama.  Speaking through his interpreter he said, “I was so happy just to be invited and I didn’t need any advice from my father and brother.” They have both represented Japan in this international jockey’s event. “I can go home a happy man now,” he added.

And it didn’t take long for the Ladies, captained by the competition’s most successful rider Hayley Turner, to record their first victory. Crowd pleaser Hollie Doyle with her infectious smile hiding a gritty determination steered home The Very Man for Irish trainer Jessica Harrington.

Just how determined an individual she is came in her post-race comment that it wouldn’t have been worth while her coming if she didn’t ride a winner. Her strength in a finish was shown in victory again in race five, The Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Classic over the Derby distance of a mile and a half.

Early leader in the overall jockeys’ table had been Matthew Chadwick from Hong Kong, past winner of the Alistair Haggis ‘Silver Saddle’ for the individual rider amassing the most points. His Rest of the World team’s lead was short lived for although they accumulated place points, the big numbers – 15 for a victory went largely to the Ladies. Saffie Osborne and Hollie Doyle each scored a double.

The Ladies were irresistible. They have always done well in this competition and they were one-two in the twelve furlong Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Challenge. The result was decided by just a short head. “Both our horses were tough,” said winning rider Saffie Osborne who wasn’t sure she had won. “Hollie (on the reserve Wootton’s Sun, upsides Osborne’s mount Scampi) said I’d won – and you don’t argue with her!”

This was Osborne’s first Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup and she gave Scampi, trained by a great supporter of the event, Andrew Baldingthe kind of ride that has thrust her into the limelight this season and made her an obvious choice for her team.

The competitive nature of the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup was never more apparent than in the fourth race, the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Mile. Danish-born Thore Hammer Hansen has had to travel long distances seeking winners since his days as leading apprentice with Richard Hannon and got a last-minute call up for Team Europe. And what a finish he rode to beat two of the greats – Joao Moreira champion in Hong Kong on many occasions with the inimitable Frankie Dettori back in third. Willie Carson, five times champion jockey in Britain, adjudged Hansen’s “The Dubai Duty Free Ride of the Day”.

Frankie Dettori’s last appearance in this competition would surely add to the excitement of the day but apart from one third placing his fans had little to cheer. The three-time Flat champion is in his final year and was the star attraction on his favourite course. But he came away empty handed.

At the inaugural Shergar Cup meeting he had ridden a double including the Dubai Duty Free Ride of the Day on Diktat. In his final season Dettori, 52, had the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup firmly in his diary. He has been on the winning team three times.  How we will miss the outstanding showman of his day – in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup as much as anywhere.

Race Five, The Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Classic over the Derby distance of a mile and a half looked to have a great bearing on the result of the Trophy and leading rider title. And so it proved - turning into the Hollie Doyle show. Like A Tiger was favourite and he had beaten Doyle’s mount Regal Empire at Yarmouth last time.

But this time the ‘tiger’ was Hollie Doyle egged on by a crowd fully engaged with the action. And again it was Hollie’s strength in a finish which made the difference and the points gained contributed to her lifting the Alistair Haggis Silver Saddle Trophy after which she said, “I haven’t won the Alistair Haggis Silver Saddle before, so it’s great to have that on my CV. I got to ride in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup first when I was an apprentice, and it let me showcase myself on a wider stage internationally.”

Her captain Hayley Turner had not been sighted all afternoon and had no mount in the last The Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Sprint. A horse everyone had come to see was Quinault, mount of the latest Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winning jockey Luke Morris. Quinault had won six races in succession. But another horse on a roll, Dark Trooper, was yet another winner for the girls and a double for Saffie Osborne. Her victory sealed the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup for the Ladies

Colm McLoughlin Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free said, “The 2023 edition of the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup has been as exciting and ultra-competitive as ever.  We are delighted to see such a big crowd enjoying the day and thoroughly engaging with the racing,” he added.