Turner has eyes on Shergar Cup glory once more

PA Sport Reporters
August 6, 2021 1:15 pm

‘It’s my favourite day of the year, it’s a lot of fun’.

Hayley Turner would love to take home the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup at Ascot on Saturday – quite literally.

Turner, who describes the team competition as her favourite event in the calendar, is on a roll as she was the leading rider at the fixture in both 2018 and 2019 and she once again captains the Ladies team in this year’s six-race contest.

Should she complete a hat-trick of jockey crowns in 2021, Turner feels she has a strong case for making the Shergar Cup trophy her own.

She said: “I’d like to think (I could win again). My dad was telling me if you win the World Cup for three years you get to actually keep it, so I’m thinking if I win it for a third year, surely I get to keep the actual Shergar Cup?

Hayley Turner celebrates winning the Shergar Cup Classic on Sapa Inca (Simon Cooper/PA)

“I’ll google it to make sure before I speak with Nick Smith (Ascot’s director of racing and public affairs)!”

Turner has been the poster girl for Ascot’s team event in recent years, contesting 13 renewals and winning the competition with the Ladies team in both 2015 and 2018.

While travel restrictions have limited the scope of rider recruitment this year, with French jockey Mickaëlle Michel and Team Ireland’s Tadgh O’Shea the only riders primarily based outside of Britain, Turner is still anticipating another exciting afternoon at the Berkshire track.

She said: “It’s my favourite day of the year, it’s a lot of fun. Although it’s not going to be how it usually is, they’ve made a great effort to get people involved with the teams.

“It’s just something a bit different to the day to day grind that we do, especially this time of year, it’s the same sort of thing every day. It’s quite refreshing to do it a little bit differently, it’s nice to have the teams, get your rides drawn out of a hat rather than getting picked for rides – the trainers get stuck with you!”

Michel will be making her British debut, but the rider, who has set records in France and enjoyed success in Japan, is no stranger to Turner, who plied her trade across the Channel after returning from a brief retirement, taking full advantage of a weight allowance introduced by France Galop for horses ridden by women.

Mickaëlle Michel will make her Shergar Cup debut at Ascot this weekend (Ascot Racecourse)

She said: “I went over to France for a while and she was there then. It’s been nice to see her progress through her career. She’s really improved and I’m delighted she’s been given the opportunity to ride at Ascot because I know it will mean a lot to her.

“To be honest, I think the French are slightly behind with the progression of female jockeys and I know they’ve tried to elevate it with the claim, but at the same time I think that does restrict the girls more from riding in the big races because they don’t claim.

“I don’t think the rules are necessary, even though that’s why I went over there, but it was just a way of getting back into racing and if someone gives you 20 quid you take it don’t you?

“I think she certainly deserves the opportunities in big races over there and it’s a shame she’s not getting them yet, but hopefully she will if she keeps working hard.”

The Ladies team, previously known as the Girls, was introduced in 2012 to make it a four-way competition along with Europe, Rest of the World and Great Britain and Ireland, although the sides have tweaked slightly in the current pandemic era, with GB and Ireland split and Europe on hold for 2021.

Female riders have made relentless progress over the last nine years, with Hollie Doyle regularly smashing records and contesting Group One races while Rachael Blackmore famously won the Grand National and was crowned leading rider at the Cheltenham Festival during the last jumps season.

Josephine Gordon, Hollie Doyle and Hayley Turner celebrate winning the Shergar Cup in 2018 (Julian Herbert/PA)

Doyle herself was part of the 2018 Shergar Cup and Turner maintains there is still a place for the Ladies team and believes it offers a fine platform for riders of both sexes to forge new alliances.

She said: “The thing with the girls’ team is it’s not a sexist thing, it’s a bit of fun.

“We get lots of young girls and people there who support our team and follow us. I think the people who keep saying they shouldn’t have a girls’ team are just reading into it a little bit too much, it’s a bit of fun and I like the support we get as well. I think we’re probably one of the most popular teams to follow so it’s great.

“Certainly for me it’s been a great help – for example, I had a winner for Mark Johnston there one year and the same horse ran again a month later in a Listed race and I kept the ride on her because I obviously got on well with her and she won that.

“I’ve had a winner for Stuart Williams who I’d never ridden for before and I’ve ended up riding for him since then. It would be the same for the lads as much as the girls I think, but it’s a great opportunity for us.”

Nicola Currie, another Shergar Cup debutante, is the third member of the Ladies team and she is an early favourite to take the top rider prize, with her side also the market leader for the competition overall with Betfair.

Turner rates her best chance on the card as the Roger Charlton-trained Barn Owl in the 12-furlong Classic.

She added: “The first two I’m riding I’ve actually ridden and won on before. Tone The Barone is going to need a PB and then I’ve got Indigo Times whose best form is on the all-weather – I would imagine he’d have been favourite if it was on the all-weather.

“I think we’ve all got a decent chance on a few of them, but Barn Owl would probably be the stand out (for me). Hopefully she’s one who is progressing.”