Dubai: Some of racing's big names might be conspicuously absent but today's 11th running of the Dubai Duty Free-sponsored Shergar Cup at Ascot promises to serve up another heady feast of action.
The world's premier international jockeys' team competition sees 12 riders representing four teams face-off over six races in the tradition of a match play event at golf.
Each race has 10 runners and each horse is ridden by a jockey from one of four teams, Great Britain, Ireland, Europe and the Rest of the World. Over the course of the day, each team rides 15 horses.
Points are awarded to the first five horses home in each race with the winner getting 15 points, 2nd 10 points, 3rd 7 points, 4th 5 and 5th 3. Each of the three jockeys in each team gets five rides and the winning team is the one with the most points at the end of racing.
Big favourites
The book of rides for the European jockeys comprising France's Olivier Peslier, Christophe Soumillon from Belgium and Italian Umberto Rispoli makes them the big favourites to win the competition.
Hayley Turner, riding in her fourth Shergar Cup, will captain the Great Britain squad and is joined by Jim Crowley and Alan Munro, while Richard Hughes, Pat Smullen and Fran Berry make up the Irish team.
Rest of the World include Japan's Yasunari Iwata, best known for his 2006 Melbourne Cup win on Delta Blues, Rising Australian star Luke Nolen as well as South African Anton Marcus, who is known locally as ‘Superman'.
The Robert Cowell-trained Prohibit, who will be ridden by Soumillon, ran an absolute blinder to finish third in the Stewards' Cup at Goodwood and can get Europe off to a strong start in the opening Barclays Shergar Cup Dash Handicap.
Classic Handicap
Turner will have the chance to put Great Britain on the score sheet when she partners course and distance winner Yashrid in the second race, the Titanic Quarter Shergar Cup Classic Handicap, but will have to cope with the progressive Opera Gal, the mount of Europe's Rispoli.
Beanandonner can open Ireland's account for Smullen by taking the Les Ambassadeurs Club Shergar Cup Mile Handicap, a race he won in 2007, though Europe once again have a strong case with Richard Hannon's Vitznau, to be ridden by Peslier.
Rest of the World's Anton Marcus and Ireland's Fran Berry are expected to go head-to-head in the fourth race of the afternoon, the St Hallett Shergar Cup Stayers Handicap which see's Europe's best chance lie in the hands of Rispoli who will be aboard the hat-trick seeking Colloquial.
Emerging Artist must represent Ireland's best chance of the day, however, Richard Hughes will have to see off another European threat in the form of Soumillon's Seeking the Buck.
And if that's not enough, Europe hold the top card in the concluding Shergar Cup Sprint with the Michael Bell-trained Gramercy sure to start as the favourite for Peslier.
