Ascot Racecourse is well and truly back in the swing of the flat racing season by the time the Shergar Cup rolls around. The brief sojourn into jump racing that the course enjoyed in the winter months is long forgotten, with something needing to fill the gap between the end of Glorious Goodwood and the start of racing at the Ebor Festival. That ‘something’ is the Shergar Cup, which is horse racing’s answer to team events, seeing jockeys compete in teams based on their presenting country or region. If you’re a fan of other sports, it can be considered akin to the Ryder Cup, which it boasts some similarities to.
Scheduled to take place in August, it actually began life at Goodwood Racecourse but moved to Ascot in the new millennium and, save a year in 2005 when Ascot was closed to the redevelopment of the Grandstand, has been based at the course ever since. There are six races run during the day, with each jockey riding in five races and each team putting forward two or three riders per race. Points are awarded according to how well the jockeys perform, with complicated formulas used in order to ensure the race is seen as fair as possible. It is a thrilling day of racing that shows off horse racing at its very finest to the watching world.
Shergar Cup Race Card
It is obviously all about the jockeys when the Shergar Cup is in play, but we can take a closer look at each of the races to give you some idea of what to expect from them. They tend to have names that are based on their sponsor each year, but we’ll miss off the sponsor here:
Race 1 - Shergar Cup Dash - 13:35
- Grade: Class 2 Handicap
- Distance: 5f (1006m)
The day gets underway with one of the most exciting races, with the three-year-old and over horses literally dashing for the finish line in this Class 2 handicap that is run over five furlongs. The horses have to have a rating of between 0 and 105 in order to take part, with the official handicapper deciding how much weight each will carry according to their ability and other factors.
If the Going is Good then you can expect this race to last for about a minute, so save your trip to the toilet until it is all over with lest you end up missing out on the fun and games of the event. As with all races on this day there will be ten runners involved.
2026 Winner
- Horse - Tuco Salamanca (Hong Kong) (4/1)
- Jockey - Jerry Chau
- Trainer - Ollie Sangster (GB)
- Overall Prize Money - £85,000
- For The Winner - £41,803
Race 2 - Shergar Cup Stayers (GBB Plus) - 14:10
- Grade: Class 2 Handicap
- Distance: 1m 7f 209y (3209m)
We will keep mentioning that every race is a handicap because it is relevant, with the horses that run in the Sherger Cup Stayers needing to have an official handicap rating of between 0 and 100. The handicapper gives them the weight that they'll carry, which depends on how highly they are rated.
The horses then take to the field and run in the Class 2 event, which takes place over one mile, seven furlongs and 209 yards. Open to horses aged four and over it is, as the name suggests, an event that is for stayers to prove their worth. If the Going is Good then it will last about three and a half minutes all told.
2026 Winner
- Horse - Dancing In Paris (Hong Kong) (17/2)
- Jockey - Luke Ferraris
- Trainer - Ian Williams (GB)
- Overall Prize Money - £85,000
- For The Winner - £41,803
Race 3 - Shergar Cup Challenge (GBB Plus) - 14:45
- Grade: Class 2 Handicap
- Distance: 1m 3f 211y (2406m)
Run over one mile, three furlongs and 211 yards, the Shergar Cup Challenge is for horses aged four and over. They will have to have an official rating of between 0 and 100, with the handicapper getting involved in order to assign them with the correct weight to make the race as fair as possible.
When the Going is Good, you will usually see the leading horses getting to the line after about two and a half minutes, meaning that it is a decent test of the participants. That is why it is known as the Challenge, with horses put through their passes in the Class 2 race.
2026 Winner
- Horse - Asgard's Captain (GB & IRE) (13/2)
- Jockey - Ryan Moore
- Trainer - Dylan Cunha (GB)
- Overall Prize Money - £85,000
- For The Winner - £41,803
Race 4 - Shergar Cup Sprint - 15:20
- Grade: Class 2 Handicap
- Distance: 6f (1207m)
If you want to watch an exciting race then there is an argument that the Shergar Cup Sprint is the one for you. As the name suggests, it is effectively a sprint to the finish, with the three-year-olds running in it getting to the end of the six furlongs in about one minute and ten seconds if the Going is Good.
A Class 2 race, the handicapper will have assigned weights to the horses to keep them on an even keel, with the horses needing to have a rating of between 0 and 100 in order to take part in the first place.
2026 Winner
- Horse - Red Spells Danger (GB & IRE) (2/1)
- Jockey - Saffie Osborne
- Trainer - Tim Easterby (GB)
- Overall Prize Money - £85,000
- For The Winner - £41,803
Race 5 - Shergar Cup Classic (GBB Plus) - 15:55
- Grade: Class 3 Handicap
- Distance: 1m 3f 211y (2406m)
In the world of flat racing, the Classics dominate. Little wonder, then, that the Shergar Cup features a race based along the idea of the Classics, run over one mile, three furlongs and 211 yards. It is limited to three-year-olds that have a rating of between 0 and 95, with the official handicapper assigning weights to each horse in order to make the race as fair as possible.
When the Going is Good in this Class 3 race, the leaders will make it to the front in a little over two miles and 30 seconds, tending to make it an exciting experience for all.
2026 Winner
- Horse - Archers Bay (GB & IRE) (5/2)
- Jockey - Ryan Moore
- Trainer - Marco Botti (GB)
- Overall Prize Money - £85,000
- For The Winner - £41,803
Race 6 - Shergar Cup Mile - 16:30
- Grade: Class 2 Handicap
- Distance: 7f 213y (1603m)
This handicap event is, as the name suggests, run over one mile. It asks the horses to take on the course provided they are aged four and over and have an official rating of between 0 and 105. It is a Class 2 race, with horses tending to head towards the finish line after one minute and 45 seconds or so, if the Going is Good.
The official handicapper then looks to give the horses the right amount the weight to carry with the aim being that all of the horses will finish the race at the same time. That never happens, of course, but it is the dream of the handicapper.
2026 Winner
- Horse - Crown Board (Europe) (10/1)
- Jockey - Frida Valle Skar
- Trainer - Richard Spencer (GB)
- Overall Prize Money - £100,000
- For The Winner - £49,180
About The Shergar Cup
Shergar Day is unique in the world of racing, arguably being more about the jockeys than it is about the horses. It took place for the first time in 1999 and is named in honour of Shergar, the 1981 Derby winner that was kidnapped by the IRA and then killed. The event was originally sponsored by the owner of Shergar, the Aga Khan, with Dubai Duty Free taking over sponsorship in more recent times. The winning team is presented by a silver trophy of Shergar that the Aga Khan originally donated. Often thought of as ‘racing’s most popular event’, it is a family friendly meeting that sees around 30,000 people a year in attendance.
The fact that it is in August usually means that the weather is decent and you will see people wearing summer dresses, lightweight suits and hats aplenty. When the competition was originally run, it pitted horse racing owners from Europe against those from the Middle East. When it moved to Ascot in 2000 the Middle East team was change to be ‘Rest of the World’, but there were so few runners that the teams ended up being mixed. Between 2001 and 2004 for the teams were made up according to the jockeys rather than the owners, with one team being from Great Britain & Ireland and the other from the Rest of the World.
When Ascot Racecourse closed for a year, decisions were taken regarding the structure of the Shergar Cup. It was decided that it would be better to have four teams of three jockeys apiece rather than two teams with six jockeys each.
In 2026 the teams were as follows:
- Europe
- Great Britain & Ireland
- Hong Kong
- Rest of the World
In 2025 the ladies team was replaced by the Asia team, which itself was replaced by team Hong Kong, although there are still plenty of female jockeys across the teams (4/12 last year). As you can see, three of the teams are made up according to the geography of the jockeys. Each team wears silks of specific colours. The jockeys taking part in 2026 were as follows:
- Great Britain & Ireland
- Saffie Osbourne – Great Britain (captain)
- Ryan Moore – Great Britain
- Dylan Brownie McMonagle – Ireland
- Europe
- Christophe- Lemaire – France (captain)
- Marie Velon – France
- Frida Valle Skar – Norway
- Rest of the World
- Jamie Melham – Australia (captain)
- Yutaka Take – Japan
- Suraj Narredu – India
- Hong Kong
- Vincent Ho -Hong Kong (captain)
- Luke Ferraris – South Africa
- Jerry Chau – Hong Kong
Off the course, the race day has activities to keep people entertained between races, with the likes of extreme sport demonstrations and fairground rides taking place, whilst there is a musical concert at the end of the race day.
The Format of the Competition
At the time of writing, there are six races run during the day of the Shergar Cup. They are all run as handicap events and are made up of different lengths and race classifications. Here is a rough guide to what to expect:
- Dash: A Class 2 race run over five furlongs and for horses aged three and over
- Stayers: Another Class 2 event, this time for horses aged four and over and run over two miles
- Challenge: Taking place over one mile and four furlongs, this Class 3 event is for horses aged four and above
- Mile: As the name suggests, it is run over 1 mile and is a Class 2 race for horses aged four and up
- Classic: Run over one mile and four furlongs, it is limited to three-year-olds and is a Class 3 event
- Sprint: The final race is a Class 2 offering that is for three-year-olds and is run over six furlongs
Fields for each race are limited to ten horses and two reserves. Horses get declared an hour before the race, with any reserve having 15 minutes to be brought up if there is a withdrawal. The horses are entered into the race the Monday before, with entries being declared as final on the Thursday. The horses are scheduled to run according to their British Horseracing Authority rating, with those rated 11th and 12th in each race being the reserves. The Official Handicapper then ranks each horse 1 through to 10, with a complex formula being applied in order to give each of the four teams a balanced mix of horse in terms of ability.
The complex formula also works out that each jockey in the teams has a mix of horses across all five of their rides, meaning that one jockey isn’t going to get all of the best horses or one of them get all of the worse ones, for example. A random draw is held to assign jockeys to a group of horses. In terms of incentives for owners, entry fees are free, whilst each race has a prize purse of £85,000 and last place is guaranteed £1,000. That is done in order to ensure that owners will make back enough money to cover their expenses. A horse that is entered as a reserve but doesn’t end up racing gets £500, whilst even the Grooms have a chance to win money.
The points are given out to the first five horses that finish the race and they are awarded as follows:
- Winner: 15 points
- 2nd Place: 10 points
- 3rd Place: 7 points
- 4th Place: 5 points
- 5th Place: 3 points
If there is a non-runner and the replacement horse can’t be readied in time to fill the void, the jockey that should have been riding it gets four points.
The team that has won the most points at the end of the six races is the winning one and is awarded the Shergar Cup. There is also a bonus £3,000 in place the individual jockey with the most points, who will also be awarded the Alistair Haggis Silver Saddle Trophy.
Previous Winners
2000
- Winning Team: Europe
- Team Points: 157
- Captain: Pat Eddery
- Silver Saddle Winner: Michael Kinane (GB & IRE) – 45 points
2001
- Winning Team: Rest of the World
- Team Points: 125
- Captain: Frankie Dettori
- Silver Saddle Winner: David Flores (ROW) – 45 points
2002
- Winning Team: Great Britain and Ireland
- Team Points: 137
- Captain: Kieren Fallon
- Silver Saddle Winner: Richard Hughes (GB & IRE) – 45 points
2003
- Winning Team: Rest of the World
- Team Points: 146
- Captain: Frankie Dettori
- Silver Saddle Winner: Kieren Fallon (GB & IRE) – 43 points
2004
- Winning Team: Rest of the World
- Team Points: 138
- Captain: Frankie Dettori
- Silver Saddle Winner: Weichong Marwing (ROW) – 37 points
2005
- Note: Event not held in 2005
2006
- Winning Team: Great Britain and Ireland
- Team Points: 153
- Captain: Jamie Spencer
- Silver Saddle Winner: Ryan Moore (GB & IRE) – 50 points
2007
- Winning Team: Rest of the World
- Team Points: 87
- Captain: Hugh Bowman
- Silver Saddle Winner: Hugh Bowman (ROW) – 36 points
2008
- Winning Team: Europe
- Team Points: 94
- Captain: Gérald Mossé
- Silver Saddle Winner: Gérald Mossé (EUR) – 50 points
2009
- Winning Team: Ireland
- Team Points: 101
- Captain: Richard Hughes
- Silver Saddle Winner: Richard Hughes (IRE) – 49 points
2010
- Winning Team: Ireland
- Team Points: 80
- Captain: Richard Hughes
- Silver Saddle Winner: Fran Berry (IRE) – 35 points
2011
- Winning Team: Ireland
- Team Points: 80
- Captain: Richard Hughes
- Silver Saddle Winner: Paul Hanagan (GB) – 35 points
2012
- Winning Team: Rest of the World
- Team Points: 89
- Captain: Yutaka Take
- Silver Saddle Winner: Matthew Chadwick (ROW) – 45 points
2013
- Winning Team: Europe
- Team Points: 97
- Captain: Gérald Mossé
- Silver Saddle Winner: Gérald Mossé (EUR) – 46 points
2014
- Winning Team: Europe
- Team Points: 69
- Captain: Frankie Dettori
- Silver Saddle Winner: Olivier Peslier (EUR) – 42 points
2015
- Winning Team: Girls
- Team Points: 69
- Captain: Emma-Jayne Wilson
- Silver Saddle Winner: Sammy Jo Bell (GIRLS) – 42 points
2016
- Winning Team: Rest of the World
- Team Points: 68
- Captain: Silvestre de Sousa
- Silver Saddle Winner: Thierry Jarnet (EUR) – 38 points
2017
- Winning Team: Great Britain and Ireland
- Team Points: 86
- Captain: Jamie Spencer
- Silver Saddle Winner: Fran Berry (GB & IRE) – 37 points
2018
- Winning Team: Girls
- Team Points: 76
- Captain: Josephine Gordon
- Silver Saddle Winner: Hayley Turner (GIRLS) – 39 points
2019
- Winning Team: Rest of the World
- Team Points: 86
- Captain: Yuga Kawada
- Silver Saddle Winner: Hayley Turner (GIRLS) – 40 points
2020
- Note: Event not held in 2020
2021
- Winning Team: Girls
- Team Points: 69
- Captain: Hayley Turner
- Silver Saddle Winner: Nicola Currie (GIRLS) – 47 points
2022
- Winning Team: Great Britain and Ireland
- Team Points: 132
- Captain: Jamie Spencer
- Silver Saddle Winner: Neil Callan (GB & IRE) – 50 points
2023
- Winning Team: Girls
- Team Points: 78
- Captain: Hayley Turner
- Silver Saddle Winner: Hollie Doyle (GIRLS) – 48 points
2024
- Winning Team: Girls
- Team Points: 71
- Captain: Hayley Turner
- Silver Saddle Winner: Hayley Turner (GIRLS) – 35 points
2025
- Winning Team: Asia
- Team Points: 68
- Captain: Suraj Narredu
- Silver Saddle Winner: Hugh Bowman (ROW) – 32 points
2026
- Winning Team: Great Britain and Ireland
- Team Points: 81
- Captain: Saffie Osbourne
- Silver Saddle Winner: Ryan Moore (GB & IRE) – 47 points
Summary
If you want to watch a horse racing event but tend to prefer team sports then the Shergar Cup might well be for you. It is designed to be a little bit like the Ryder Cup, only given a twist for the world of horses. In some ways, however, it is a meeting that is less about the horses and more about the jockeys, who are split into teams according to the likes of where they’re based and their gender. There are four teams, made up of Great Britain & Ireland, Europe, Rest of the World and Hong Kong. There are three jockeys in each team, all getting five races each.
The meeting was originally sponsored by the Aga Khan, who owned Shergar, the horse after which it is named. There are six races run during the course of the day and each takes place in accordance with the style of the event. There is a dash, a race for stayers, a challenge event, a race run over a mile, an event that is themed after the Classics and a sprint. The jockeys are awarded points according to where they finish, with points given out to the first five races. The team that has the most points at the end of the day’s racing is awarded the Shergar Cup, whilst there is also a prize on offer to the most successful individual jockey.