Shergar Cup 2024 Stats and Trends

Saturday afternoon sees one of the more distinctive race days of the British Racing season as Ascot hosts the 2024 edition of the hugely popular Shergar Cup meeting.

Before the advent of the Racing League, this six-race fixture was just about the only team event on the calendar. Whereas in the Racing League, teams are tied to regions of the UK and Ireland, the Shergar Cup benefits from a flavour of international competition, with a battle of the sexes element thrown into the mix.

With the meeting only a few days away, we now know the identities of the 12 jockeys set to strut their stuff in Berkshire, with the make-up of the teams as follows.

Great Britain and Ireland

• Tadhg O’Shea
• Seamie Heffernan
• Billy Loughnane

Europe

• Bauryrzhan Murzabayev
• Alberto Sanna
• Jose-Luis Borrego

Rest of the World

• Rachel King
• Rachel Venniker
• Nanako Fujita

Ladies

• Hayley Turner
• Saffie Osborne
• Marie Velon

Scoring

Each of the 12 riders on show will ride in five of the six races on the card – each of which is restricted to 10 runners – with the rides organised so that each team has a total of 15 rides at the fixture.

Points are awarded in each race as follows:

• 1st – 15 Points
• 2nd – 10 Points
• 3rd – 7 Points
• 4th – 5 Points
• 5th – 3 Points

The team with the most points at the end of the sixth race claims glory, bragging rights, and a silver trophy of the legendary, ill-fated 1981 Derby winner.

The Races – Stats and Trends

All six Shergar Cup races are handicap affairs, with runners assigned to each team to create a theoretically even chance of lifting the Shergar Cup. 

A six-race handicap card creates a predictably difficult puzzle for punters to solve. On the plus side, at least we aren’t faced with an overwhelming list of runners, and there are a few useful stats which may assist in zeroing in on the most likely contenders.

Let’s take a look at the standout trends from the past ten editions of the Shergar Cup.

1:35 Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Dash

• Eight of the ten winners drawn in stall 7 or below
• Seven of the ten winners carried 9st6lb or more
• Eight of the ten winners were aged five or younger
• Eight of ten had previously won over 5f
• Five winning favourites or joint-favourites
• Seven or ten winners were below career-high rating
• Most Successful Trainers – Clive Cox & Robert Cowell (2 Wins)

2:10 Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Stayers

• Eight of the ten winners drawn in stall 5 or above
• Seven of the ten winners carried 9st6lb or more
• Seven of the ten winners were aged six or younger
• Only two winning favourites or joint-favourites
• Seven of the ten winners were rated 90 or above

2:45 Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Challenge

• Eight of the ten winners were drawn in stall 6 or below
• Eight of the ten winners were either four or five years of age
• Seven of the ten winners were rated 90 or above
• Eight of the ten winners carried 9st5lb or above
• Seven of the ten winners had previously won over 1m4f
• Most Successful Trainer – Andrew Balding (2 Wins)
• No winning favourites

3:20 Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Sprint

• Seven of the ten winners were drawn in stall 7 or above
• Eight of the ten winners carried 9st5lb or above
• Four winning favourites or joint-favourites
• Nine of the ten winners had previously won over 6f
• Seven of the ten winners were rated 94 or above

3:55 Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Classic

• Nine of the ten winners were drawn in stall 6 or above
• Eight of the ten winners carried 9st5lb or more
• Two winning favourites
• Most Successful Trainer – Mark Johnston (3 wins)
• Seven of the ten winners were rated 85 or above

4:30 Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Mile

• Nine of the ten winners were either four or five years of age
• Seven of the ten winners carried 9st6lb or more
• Three winning favourites
• All ten winners were rated 92 or higher
• All ten winners had previously won over 1m

Paul Harrison

Falling in love with racing at a young age, Paul’s passion for sports and betting took him to Salford University, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics with Gambling Studies. Having spent ten years in the employment of a leading bookmaker, Paul opted to go it alone and pursue his dream job as a freelance writer.