The Girls bid to retain honours in tight battle

Dubai: A stellar cast is set for the 2016 renewal of the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup at Ascot Racecourse, UK when the world’s premier international jockeys’ challenge returns on Saturday.

Three top riders in each of four teams — Great Britain & Ireland, Europe, the Rest of the World and The Girls — will go head-to-head in a thrilling six-race showdown.

The Girls team is captained by Canada’s most successful female rider, Emma-Jayne Wilson, a Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup regular who led The Girls to an historic win in 2015 after narrowly missing out on a victory the previous year.

Wilson will be making her fifth appearance in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup. Wilson is joined by Hayley Turner, the most successful female jockey in British racing history - who has come out of retirement to ride at the event for the 10th time - and Josephine Gordon making her Shergar Cup debut.

Turner, who stunned the racing world by announcing her retirement at the age of 33 last November is returning to the saddle for the Shergar Cup as a one-off. In preparation, she has had nine rides in the last few weeks and came within half-a-length of victory at Carlisle on Monday aboard the Ruth Carr-trained Dubai Dynamo.

Brazilian-born Silvestre De Sousa, the reigning champion jockey in Britain, leads the Rest of the World team, which also features leading Japanese rider Kenichi Ikezoe and South African ace Gavin Lerena. All three are making their debuts at the Shergar Cup.

Dubai Duty Free Executive Vice Chairman & CEO, Colm McLoughlin, said: “The line-up looks as strong as in any previous year and we are particularly pleased to welcome back two magnificent crowd pleasers in Frankie and Hayley, both terrific ambassadors for the sport who can now be regarded as Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup veterans with 10 competitions each to their credit.”