Shergar Cup Day at Ascot: Saturday Tips

Shergar Cup Day at Ascot: Saturday Tips

The Shergar Cup is one of the calendar’s genuinely fun fixtures, pitting jockey teams against each other across a card that still throws up plenty of punting opportunities. Good to firm ground suits horses with a quick action, and Ascot on these terms rewards those who travel smoothly through their races rather than grinders who need cut. Three races, three angles worth backing.

1:35 — Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Dash (5f, Class 2 Handicap)

Selection: Fandom — 9/2 Boyle Sports / Betfred, 4/1 LiveScore Bet

Richard Hannon’s operation is ticking along at a healthy clip, 9 winners from 55 runners in the last fortnight, and Fandom arrives here fit from a seven-day turnaround. That matters in a race where several rivals have been absent for 40-plus days. His form reads 310430, which looks messy at first glance, but the third two starts back came after a below-par effort, showing he can bounce back quickly. He has the trip and the going taped, and a rating of 104 puts him right in the mix. The unplaced last run needs ignoring, but short turnarounds for Hannon horses are often a positive sign.

The each-way alternative at bigger odds is Fahrenheit Seven Each-Way (8/1 Boyle Sports, 17/2 Betfred), ridden by Saffie Osborne, who hits 15% at Ascot with an A/E of 1.62. Two wins on the bounce four and five starts back prove course and trip ability, and if she bounces back from a quiet spell, that 8/1 looks workable each-way at 3 places, 1/5 odds.

2:10 — Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Stayers (2m, Class 2 Handicap)

Selection: Dancing In Paris Each-Way — 7/1 Boyle Sports, 15/2 Betfred, 13/2 LiveScore Bet

The market here is dominated by Shrimp Shady at 15/8, but ranked ninth of eleven on the figures, that price looks short. Ian Williams sends out Dancing In Paris just 15 days after his last run, which tells you the horse is in decent nick and the yard is happy with him. He has the distance and the going in the form book, and a fifth last time out in a stayers’ contest suggests he’s finding his level. At 7/1 in an 11-runner handicap with three places paid at 1/5 odds, each-way appeals strongly.

Kilmeaden (8/1) is the other runner of note, shaped with promise on his penultimate start and at least has live claims, but Dancing In Paris gets the nod on fitness grounds alone.

4:30 — Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Mile (1m, Class 2 Handicap)

Selection: Two Tribes Each-Way — 11/2 Boyle Sports / Betfred / LiveScore Bet

Dylan Browne McMonagle picks up the ride and he is not a jockey who gets handed soft assignments. Two Tribes ran second two starts back at this level, returns just seven days later which screams that trainer Richard Spencer is confident the horse is in good shape, and a rating of 113 makes him the second-highest rated runner in the entire field. The winless recent run frustrates, but the class is there, the trip and going suit, and there is a real argument that he has been just finding rivals too good rather than being out of form. At 11/2 in a 12-runner handicap, the each-way case at 3 places, 1/5 odds is solid.

Worth a note that Ebt’s Guard (5/1) carries the William Muir and Chris Grassick combination, a yard with a strong Ascot record at 15% and an A/E of 1.64. The form is patchy, but that trainer stat keeps him on the radar at the price.

Today’s NAP

Two Tribes — Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Mile (4:30, Ascot)
Odds: 11/2 — Boyle Sports (others: 11/2 Betfred, 11/2 LiveScore Bet)

The second-highest rated horse in a 12-runner handicap returning on a seven-day turnaround with Dylan Browne McMonagle in the saddle. Trainers do not run horses back in a week unless they are happy with what they saw last time. The runner-up effort two starts ago proves he can go close at this level, the good to firm ground suits, and 11/2 represents real each-way value in a race where anything outside the top three will feel hard done by.

Each-Way Recommended — 3 places at 1/5 odds