Graham Cunningham steers us through the World Pool card at Ascot on Saturday as the Shergar Cup takes centre stage.
Ryan returns as Shergar joins the World Pool club
A few familiar old lines and the odd new one come to mind for this year’s Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup.
‘Racing can never be a team sport’ is high on the list of musty old grouses, while a new variant appeared this week when one wag argued that Ryan Moore should soon adapt to a team format even though he hasn’t graced the Ascot shindig for 20 years.
Joking apart, the four teams in the first Shergar Cup run under the World Pool banner are filled with world-class riders.
All six races will be live on ITV and I’m hoping that heavy hitting HK punters create a few value opportunities by getting firmly behind Ryan’s five mounts at the expense of rivals with equally solid chances in six tough handicaps.
Danger signal flashing for bang-in-form Saffie
I’m not one for speculating on who will snag the Silver Saddle for leading rider or the overall team winner, but the value angle could come into play in several key races, including the Sprint at 3.20.
Fresh from a breakout HK season, Chau has drawn the card they all wanted in Thunder Call and this progressive Haggas colt – who won a valuable pot at York before finishing an honourable third in a hot race on the July Course – clearly has plenty to recommend him.
But I wonder whether the gap in the market between Thunder Call and old rival RED SPELLS DANGER will be wider than it ought to be in the WP.
Tim Easterby’s gelding has thrived this year – finishing just behind Thunder Call at York and again at HQ – and an honourable fifth in a big field of smart older handicappers back on the Knavesmire recently makes one of the most appealing win and place bets on the card under bang-in-form Saffie Osborne.
First impressions suggest Osborne has fared very nicely in the rides ballot and Hoseki – another Haggas improver who’s chasing a four timer after a gutsy course and distance success – looks a key player in the Classic at 3.55.
But World Pool punters surely won’t be missing one with such a positive profile.
Smooth-travelling Royal Poetry (57-year-old Yutaka Take) and progressive Level Look (Frida Valle Skar) are going well enough to suggest they can go well at longer odds, while Osborne has another live chance in the Challenge (2.45) as Fantasy Believer is still running to a useful level aged nine and is another fresh from a good Ascot effort.
You should be Dancing…..yeah!
Thursday’s media event provided a chance to meet up with a few old faces from Hong Kong and the opportunity to give one of their team members a few hints for his first day riding at one of the world’s most famous tracks.
I couldn’t fill Luke Ferraris with optimism for a couple of his mounts but the WhatsApp note for DANCING IN PARIS – one of three Ian Williams runners in the Stayers at 2.10 – reads as follows:
“Pace from a couple here - Hermetic and possibly Pole Star – but it won’t be strong.
Your lad looks like he’s building quite nicely into this. He’s not complicated, a mid-pack runner who settles well, and his trainer is shrewd enough at getting them ready for days like this.
Third in the 2400m race on this day in 2024 and ran some great races in big handicaps this time last year. He’s 14-1 here but that price underestimates him by a fair bit.”
Vincent holding out for a Hero
The Ferraris File, as many are calling it, also contained a positive note for reliable Fahey raider Castle Stuart as he steps up in trip against Fantasy Believer and company in the Challenge, but let’s wrap up the Cup with a few lines on the opener and the nightcap.
It looks like a 9/2 the field job for the Sprint at 1.35, with Bolo Neighs and fiery recent course winner All Ways Glamorous atop the market, but Gold Star Hero is another with loads of speed and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him give Vincent Ho a good spin at a handy price.
And then we come to a strong Mile at 4.30 that features last year’s first two (Ebt’s Guard and Cerulean Bay) plus a few other old favourites and a French import with a load of duck eggs against his name and that man Ryan in the irons for the first time.
Luckless Ozat endured a torrid time in last week’s Golden Mile at Goodwood, hemmed tight on the inner with Billy Loughnane forced to give up inside the last, and he’s now 3lb lower than when running well for eighth in the Hunt Cup.
Better will surely follow with smoother sailing – and Cerulean Bay is high on the Quinella list after his fine second at Goodwood – but Ebt’s Guard was another to suffer traffic trouble in the Golden Mile and this ultra-reliable gelding looks as safe a choice as any under Indian ace Suraj Narredu in a very difficult finale.
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