Moore's Return Powers Great Britain & Ireland To Glory

Moore Returns To Spark A Rout

Twenty years fell away in the space of six races at Ascot on Saturday, 8 August 2026. Ryan Moore's return to the Shergar Cup (run commercially as the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup) set the tone for a Great Britain & Ireland side that trailed for half the card before pulling clear, and by the close Moore had matched the feat he first achieved on the same ground 20 years earlier, when he was leading rider as Great Britain & Ireland won on his debut appearance in 2006. This year's card marked the event's 25th anniversary and introduced a dedicated Hong Kong Jockey Club team in place of the former Asia grouping, with captain Saffie Osborne and Dylan Browne McMonagle completing the home side alongside Moore.

Team Hong Kong opened the boldest of accounts. In the five-furlong Shergar Cup Dash, Tuco Salamanca settled off the pace before Jerry Chau asked for an effort a furlong out, and the four-year-old, trained by Ollie Sangster, quickened clear to win by a length and a half from stablemate Gold Star Hero, with Fandom third for Suraj Narredu and Rest of the World. The result put Team Hong Kong 25 points clear at the head of the standings after one race.
"It is a lovely feeling riding this track with the uphill, and very different from riding in Hong Kong," Chau said. "I am very happy to be riding against other top jockeys." It was Chau's first ride at Ascot, and he remained in contention for the Silver Saddle until the closing race.

Team Hong Kong extended its lead in the two-mile Shergar Cup Stayers, where Dancing In Paris was held up for a gap two furlongs out before finding room and collaring Great Britain & Ireland's Shrimp Shady close home under Luke Ferraris. Trained by Ian Williams, the six-year-old won by a length, with Mountain Road a further half a length back in third for Yutaka Take and Rest of the World. Ferraris later received the meeting's Ride of the Day award for the performance.
"It has always been a dream to ride at Ascot," Ferraris said. "For the first one to be a winner has started the record off well."

Osborne And Moore Turn The Tide

Ryan Moore opened his own account in the Shergar Cup Challenge, where Asgard's Captain, trained by Dylan Cunha, made amends for finishing fifth in the same race twelve months earlier by picking up strongly off the home bend to win by a length and a quarter from Sportingsilvermine, with Enemy third for Europe's Frida Valle Skar. Team Hong Kong led on 45 points after three races, with Great Britain & Ireland on 31, Rest of the World on 24 and Europe on 20.
"He just needed a little organising off the home bend, but when I asked him for an effort, he showed a really good attitude," Moore said. Trainer Dylan Cunha confirmed the six-year-old would head to Budapest on 5 September 2026 for a Group One over a mile and a half. The win was the 25th for owner-syndicate Quest Thoroughbreds and Cunha in partnership, run by Jordan Hopkins on behalf of around two dozen members.

Great Britain & Ireland captain Saffie Osborne turned the card in her side's favour aboard Red Spells Danger in the Shergar Cup Sprint, sitting off the pace on Tim Easterby's three-year-old before powering clear to score by a length and a half from Team Hong Kong's Thunder Call, ridden by Jerry Chau, with May Angel third for Europe's Christophe Lemaire. Dylan Browne McMonagle added a fourth place on Cape Ashizuri as Team Hong Kong's overall lead was cut to four points, 55 to 51, after four races.
"He probably found the ground a little bit quick for him early doors and I had to let him warm into it, but then he came home really well," Osborne said.

Archers Bay Seals A Hat-Trick

Moore struck again in the Shergar Cup Classic aboard Archers Bay, taking Great Britain & Ireland into the lead for the first time. The Marco Botti-trained three-year-old sat behind the leaders throughout the 12-furlong contest before stretching clear a furlong out to beat King Of Berkshire, ridden by Christophe Lemaire for Europe, by three and a quarter lengths, with Baltic Fleet third for Team Hong Kong's Jerry Chau. Great Britain & Ireland led on 71 points after five races, with Team Hong Kong on 62, Europe on 37 and Rest of the World on 34.
"Ryan said he had him in a nice rhythm," trainer Marco Botti said. "They did not go very quick and he settled well. Once he turned into the straight, Ryan asked him to quicken, and he picked up immediately and put the race to bed in just a few strides." Botti had also won at the meeting twelve months earlier, with Prince Of India.

The closing Shergar Cup Mile, worth £100,000 (US$134,800) to the winning connections, went the way of Europe as Frida Valle Skar steered Crown Board to victory ahead of teammate Bullet Point and Christophe Lemaire, with Great Britain & Ireland's Ozat third under Ryan Moore. Trained by Jane Chapple-Hyam, the six-year-old got the fractions right from the front and kicked clear approaching the final furlong for a winning margin of almost four lengths.
"You are already very happy to have the opportunity to come here to ride — not only one race but five races," Valle Skar said. "I started the day disappointingly with horses jumping out slow, so it is incredible to finish the day like this on a winner."

Great Britain & Ireland closed out the card on 81 points, with Team Hong Kong and Europe tied for second on 62 apiece and Rest of the World fourth on 39. Moore's 47 points across the six races secured the Alistair Haggis Silver Saddle for a second time, 20 years after his first, with Christophe Lemaire second on 35 and Jerry Chau third on 32. Luke Ferraris and Vincent Ho tied for fifth on 15 points apiece, while Dylan Browne McMonagle's four frame finishes across the card lifted him to 14.

Suraj Narredu, who rode for Rest of the World alongside Yutaka Take and Jamie Melham, said: "It has been a great day to be part of, even though I did not ride a winner. There are 12 jockeys and only six races, so it happens that you can miss out, but I would love to come back again."
Osborne said the fixture's value lay beyond the result sheet. "It's brilliant for a younger audience to be able to pick a team and follow them, and to have such world class jockeys here is brilliant," she said. Moore pointed to sharing a weighing room with riders he had once idolised. "It's nice to be back here seeing jockeys like Yutaka [Take] and Christophe [Lemaire] — older jockeys who I was looking up to as a kid," he said.

1st- Asgard's Captain (trainer- Dylan Cunha / jockey- Ryan Moore)
2nd- Sportingsilvermine (trainer- James Owen / jockey- not stated)
3rd- Enemy (trainer- Ian Williams / jockey- Frida Valle Skar)