Shergar Cup Needs Rescheduling to Attract Top Jockeys, Says Racing Expert The Shergar Cup should be moved to avoid clashes with Group 1 races in Ireland and France if it is to attract the best jockeys. That is the view of Emma Nagle, speaking irishracing.com’s The Irish Angle show this week after the 2025 edition. The William Haggas-trained Tenability won a 12f Classic at Ascot on Saturday but his wife Maureen questioned the quality of riders at the unique event that sees jockeys form teams representing Great Britain and Ireland, Europe, Asia and the Rest of the World. A Success Despite The Quality “On the one front, it looked like it was somewhat of a success,” irishracing.com editor Vincent Finegan explained. “They brought in this new Asia team and Europe team and we had Robbie Dolan representing Great Britain and Ireland, and he had a winner after flying in from Australia. “It looks like the organisers were happy with it. Dubai Duty Free sponsored it. £80,000 a race for these handicaps and £100,000 for the final race of the day. So there's a lot of money at stake here and it's good for trainers, and it's obviously good for the jockeys riding in it. “If you want to run your horse in it, you're going to earn good prize money. You might be stuck with a rider you don't particularly want, and some of them are obviously unknowns. “If you look at who rode, we had the Hollie Doyles of the world in it and Joanna Mason who rides in the UK as well, but a lot of them are unfamiliar names. The Changing Face of The Shergar Cup Emma Nagle suggested the quality of riders reflected the current status of the Shergar Cup and it needs to be moved to a different time of year to get it back to its glory days. “Look, I suppose it's nothing new for the last few years. This has kind of been the way the Shergar Cup has gone. “In fairness, I don't really think they market it as being the best jockeys in the world. It's just an international showcase. “It was interesting. I heard or read somewhere over the weekend that the riders actually aren't offered any monetary incentive. “They obviously get their expenses paid but they're not getting paid to go riding the Shergar Cup. “You've got big racing around the world, big racing in France, big racing in Ireland [at the same time]. It's going to take away a little bit; you're not going to be able to attract those Group 1 riders. “I suppose the connections probably know when they're entering a horse, that might be the way it ends up for them. They could get a jockey who's never ridden in the UK, never ridden on the track. “If you end up with a Hollie Doyle compared to some jockey who's never ridden outside of their own continent, you've obviously got a massive advantage in that regard but it's the risk you take and the prize money is probably enough of an incentive to to roll the dice anyway. “From what I've seen, people who went to this year's Shergar Cup seemed to be pretty happy with it. They seem to get a good crowd, and whether that was the racing or whether it was whatever band or DJ they had afterwards, I'm not totally sure. “It's just the way the event has gone now, really. It's changed a little bit from what it originally was. “To have this be the optimal event that would interest nearly all racegoers, it would have to have the very best in the world to compete at the best tracks but it's just not the way it is. “Maybe they should look at changing it to a different time a year and maybe you could get a higher standard of jockey then, because I don't think any Group 1 rider is going to turn down a bigger race ride to go ride in the Shergar Cup.” Watch The Full Irish Angle Show
