Dubai: 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 Velon are among the 12 jockeys confirmed to ride in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup at Ascot Racecourse in UK on August 10.
Velon, 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, who is 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.
Classic winning jockey
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, a four-time champion Flat jockey in Germany, is leading 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.
Prize money on offer
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 for once again bringing together a star-studded international line-up.”
A record £500,000 will be on offer across the six race programmes with prize money paid down to 10th place in each race. £25,000 in stable bonuses is also available split between the three leading yards.
