Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup
Ascot - 8th August 2026
It may have only been 6 races on Saturday afternoon at Ascot, but the 2026 Shergar Cup served up some superb performances from some of the best riders in the world. In their own way, each race served to highlight the unique set of skills that riders from the different jurisdictions have honed through many years of riding in the style of the various countries that they represent. A well judged piece of pace riding in the sprint from the Hong Kong team, a clever front running ride from a jockey used to judging the right pace in France and of course, the obligatory moment of genius that seems to follow Ryan Moore wherever he goes. The Great Britain and Ireland team ultimately triumphed and having been led by Ryan Moore’s brilliance and the now customary Shergar Cup success from Saffie Osborne, their 3 victories from the 6 races made them more than worthy winners. However, this event was about much more than the skills of the home team and there are some important notes to be made from another afternoon of competitive racing at Ascot. Here’s my summary some of the key data points from the Shergar Cup 2026;
Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Dash
Racing began with the Shergar Cup Dash over the minimum trip in the Ascot straight. This race was run at a reasonably fast early pace, with All Ways Glamorous breaking quickly through the 2nd furlong to cover the opening quarter of a mile in 24.52s. Sat behind this fast pace was Tuco Salamanca, who was allowed plenty of time to gather his stride by Jerry Chau, whose experience of fast early pace in Hong Kong was invaluable behind such a frantic race. As the leaders began to drop their pace, it was Tuco Salamanca who started to make progress, recording race best furlongs of 10.48 and 11.10s as he made his way through the gaps to ultimately win going away as he recorded a late speed figure of 39 mph. The average top speed of a winner over this course and distance on the TPD database at Ascot is 41.6 mph, so the fact that all 10 runners recorded figures above this average is testament to both the fast nature of the ground and the strong early pace. However, with a finishing speed of 102.4%, this was not just a case of a patient rider picking up the pieces. Instead, it was a calm piece of race riding from Jerry Chau, who allowed his mount the time needed to reach top speed so that he could maintain his momentum. This was a career best performance from Ollie Sangster’s 4-year-old, who won this race on a mark of 100 and having now won 8 of his 20 career starts, he does look to be reaching the peak of his powers. Although better known as an All-Weather performer, this victory came on a mark 18 lbs higher than his only previous success on the turf at Yarmouth last year and quickly made up for a slightly disappointing run in last week’s Stewards Cup at Goodwood. The handicapper may now have his say and having led home a 1,2 for the Hong Kong Team with a winning margin of over a length, he is fast heading out of handicap company and after this dominant performance, he may well be worth a try in pattern company.
I will add a small note at this point to highlight the form of Bolo Neighs. He finished 5th, but ran the fastest final furlong split time (11.79s) and was the only horse to record a run-out speed above 35 mph. He was a winner over 6 furlongs at Ascot earlier in the season, but has struggled to lie up with the pace over this shorter trip in a couple of efforts since. He starts slowly, recording the slowest opening furlong (14.91s) on Saturday after taking 6.6s to reach 30 mph when the stalls opened. Over the minimum trip that leaves him very vulnerable, especially on the fast ground, but he finished his race nicely under Christophe Lemaire and with a return to 6 furlongs, he is starting to look well handicapped and if (it is a big “if”) he can break on terms, he should be able to take advantage of that point.
Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Sprint
It wouldn’t be the Shergar Cup without talking about Saffie Osborne and having drawn a blank with her early rides, she delivered Tim Easterby’s Red Spells Danger perfectly to win the Shergar Cup sprint. A winning time of 1:12.24 was nearly three-quarters of a second under the TPD expected time figure and made Red Spells Danger the fastest winner of this race since Mince in 2012. However, whilst the time is important it was perhaps the experience of Saffie Osborne that won this race. Making her challenge on the far side of the field, she was almost level with the runner-up, Thunder Call, as they passed the 2 furlong pole on opposite sides of the field. In fact there was just 0.02s between the pair at that point, but Osborne was the first to commit as she drove her mount to the front with race best 4th and 5th furlongs (11.12s and 11.46s). Jerry Chau did little wrong aboard Thunder Call, who ran the fastest final furlong split (12.04s) and recorded a run-out speed of 34 mph, more than 4% faster than the winner, but the split second decision to wait slightly longer allowed Saffie Osborne to get the first run and as a result, Red Spells Danger had cleared away to win by over a length. In the process, Red Spells Danger reversed the form with Thunder Call from their earlier meeting at York and at the weights, the pair have perhaps run to identical levels. However, William Haggas’ 3-year-old remains very lightly raced and our data would suggest that he lost very little in defeat. If asked for an opinion, I would have to take the view that by the end of the year, Thunder Call will be the higher rated of the pair, but that should not detract from a brilliant piece of race riding from Saffie Osborne.
Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Classic
The winner of the Shergar Cup Classic is the horse to take from this year’s Shergar Cup. Marco Botti’s 3-year-old looks to be on a very steep upward curve of improvement and he dominated this race under Ryan Moore as the Great Britain and Ireland team surged into the lead with their 3rd victory in as many races. This race was run at a reasonably steady pace and every runner recorded a finishing speed of 102.8% or more, but a winning time of 2:31.20 was the fastest in this race since Danehill Kodiac won in 2016. When the pace began to lift as the field began to swing for home, Archers Bay moved to the front under a relatively motionless Ryan Moore. He’s quite a compact colt whose average stride length figure of 23.1 ft was considerably shorter than the next 3 horses to chase him home, but it made little difference as he quickened clear with only limited encouragement as he recorded a race best figure of 12.12s for the final furlong. That was the only time in the race that Archers Bay recorded the fastest furlong split in the field, but he held his average stride frequency at 2.34 strides per second for each of the final 3 furlongs, a consistency that none of his rivals could match and having won this race by over 3 lengths, he may also now be bound for pattern company after such an easy success. A run-out speed of 35.14 mph, well above the average figure for a winner over this course and distance, would suggest that he had more left in the tank had it been required. The son of Wootton Bassett was picked up at the horses in training sale at Tattersalls in October and now looks to be a relative bargain at just 30,000 guineas. He has won 3 of his 5 starts since joining Marco Botti and following this success, he is likely to move close to or just slightly above the 100 mark. This was only his 8th start and all of the data available from TPD would suggest that he is still capable of further improvement.
Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Mile
The final race on Saturday’s card, the Shergar Cup Mile, was built around the ongoing battle to win the Cup itself and what was required by the Great Britain and Ireland and Hong Kong teams to get over the line. As a result, there wasn’t a great deal of attention focussed on Crown Board and his Norwegian rider Frida Valle Skar. Drawn widest in stall 12, I think this was the best ride of the day as the pair overcame their high draw to control this race entirely. Breaking smartly and taking only 6.6s to reach 30 mph, Valle Skar kept her mount in a straight line and allowed him to make his way across to the inside rail gradually, as he recorded splits of 12.08 and 12.37s for the 2nd and 3rd furlongs, both of which were race best figures. Once in front, Crown Board slowed down and Frida Valle Skar held on to her mount until they had rounded the bend. A 6th furlong split of 12.19s ranked last of the 10 runners, but Crown Board wasn’t tiring. Instead he was being given time to gather himself for the climb to the line and he quickened on demand, reaching a race peak average stride frequency of 2.44 strides per second in the straight as he pulled clear to win by over 3 lengths. As a 6-year-old, who has now won 4 of his 16 career starts, he wouldn’t be an obvious horse to note as an “improver”. However, he missed a lot of time as a younger horse and as a result, he is more lightly raced than most 6-year-olds and having been narrowly beaten over the straight mile course at Ascot on his latest start in July, he certainly wasn’t winning this out of turn. At an average of 23.3 ft, his stride length figure was shorter than the average of a race winner over the respective course and distances and I think that the switch to the round course played more to his strengths.