The Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup at Ascot on Saturday has been strengthened by the confirmation that Ryan Moore and Dylan Browne McMonagle will compete. Moore, who won the Silver Saddle award during his only previous appearance in 2006, is free to ride as no Flat racing is scheduled in Ireland that afternoon.
Team GB and Ireland line-up
Moore and McMonagle will represent the Great Britain and Ireland team, captained by Saffie Osborne. The event also features teams from Hong Kong, Europe, and the Rest of the World.
The Hong Kong Jockey Club team will be led by Vincent Ho, who won the Shergar Cup in 2019 with the Rest of the World squad. He will be joined by Jerry Chau and Luke Ferraris.
International stars confirmed
Christophe Lemaire will captain Europe, alongside Marie Velon and Frida Valle Skar. Jamie Melham (formerly Kah) will spearhead the Rest of the World, partnered by Japan's Yutake Take and Suraj Narredu, who led team Asia to victory last year.
Ascot's head of corporate and industry affairs, Will Aitkenhead, said: "It's absolutely fantastic to have Ryan and Dylan on board. Both had very strong Royal Ascots, with Ryan the leading jockey, and both had very good weeks at Goodwood."
Strongest possible teams
Aitkenhead added: "It's really helpful the Phoenix Stakes has moved from the Saturday to the Sunday at the Curragh this year which frees them up and it's great to have them board.
"We'd been in discussions with Oisin (Murphy) and Billy (Loughnane) earlier in the year and they were keen, but they just don't know where they'll be. Obviously Hollie Doyle would have been here, but she's sadly injured.
"In previous years we've lined them up early which helps with the marketing and everything, but this year we were keen to get the strongest teams that we could so waiting until this week made sense."
On the overseas riders, Aitkenhead commented: "Jamie Melham returns as a Melbourne Cup winner, she's huge in Australia and Yutake Take is the biggest name in Japan. We've got Christophe Lemaire and the Hong Kong team led by Vincent Ho as well so we've got some really strong teams."
