Seamie Heffernan, Billy Loughnane, and French Group One winner Marie Vélon are among the 12 jockeys who have been confirmed to ride in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup at Ascot on Saturday.
Nine countries will be represented by the rirders across the four teams while new ground is broken this year with an equal number of male and female jockeys for the first time in the history of the event.
Vélon, the first French female jockey to win a French Group One race with her victory in the 2022 Prix Royal-Oak, will join the Ladies’ team which is captained by 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 One winner Rachel King, and will also feature Japanese rider Nanako Fujita. She made her Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup debut in 2019 and became the first female JRA jockey to compete in a Group 1 when doing so the same year. 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 he will be joined by Italian Alberto Sanna, who has ridden over 400 winners, including the 2000 Guineas in his native Italy twice in 2021 and 2022. Spaniard Jose-Luis Borrego, victorious in Classics in his home country and having ridden nearly 500 career 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. His 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.
A record £500,000 will be available in prize money across the six race programme with prize money paid down to 10th in each race. £25,000 in stable bonuses is also available split between the three leading yards.
After racing, Sugababes will headline a concert line-up, curated by The Cambridge Club, which also includes Ministry of Sound Ibiza Anthems ft. Ellie Sax, Scouting For Girls, and a DJ set from Denise Van Outen.
Nick Smith, Director of Racing and Public Affairs at Ascot Racecourse said: “We are thrilled with the line-up this year for the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup which has a really strong international flavour with nine countries represented.
“To have secured some top-class jockeys, including the star of the moment Billy Loughnane, and international Group 1 winning jockeys Rachel King and Marie Vélon is testament to the strength of the event. The Ladies’ team has proven incredibly successful, both on the track and with our racegoers, so we’re delighted to be able to invite three more female jockeys to the Rest of the World team this year.”
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