Hayley Turner© Photo Healy Racing
Hayley Turner cemented her position as the undisputed queen of the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup as she led her Ladies team to a third success in five years at Ascot – also landing her third Alistair Haggis Silver Saddle award for top rider.
Making her 17th appearance at the unique event, Turner edged out her teammate Joanna Mason in the final race, with New Image (100-30 favourite) beating Yantarni in the Mile to secure the title by 11 points from Europe (71-60).
That last-gasp success drew Turner level with South African Rachel Venniker on 35 points for the leading jockey crown, but she took the number one spot overall on countback.
“Alistair Haggis was actually the reason the girls started on the Shergar Cup teams. When I started there were two teams and Alistair suggested that each team had a girl, so Emma-Jayne (Wilson) represented the Rest of the World and I represented Great Britain and Ireland and since then it has just snowballed,” said Turner.
“It’s great. Obviously Alistair is not with us now, but he played a key part in all the Shergar Cup victories I’ve had.
“I think it helps that the trainers don’t get to choose if I ride their horses or not, I do end up with better rides than what I’d usually get and it just goes to show it’s the animals that get you there and not just the jockeys. All my family are up here, there will be a big celebration tonight.”
Turner had earlier executed a perfect front-running ride on Andrew Balding’s Ranch Hand (13-2) who was headed close home by Beamish and Seamie Heffernan in the Stayers race before battling back to win by a head.
Turner said: “The horse is very tough to be fair. It was quite nice for the Kingsclere Racing Club, as I had a winner for them here last week as well and they are always out in force – they are going to have a good afternoon now.”
While the Ladies trio of Turner, Mason and French Group One-winning jockey Marie Velon took the team prize, they were far from the only female riders in action, with the split of jockeys 50-50 for the first time.
Venikker had got the day off to a flier for the Rest of the World aboard William Knight’s Holkham Bay (4-1 favourite) in the Dash that opened the day’s proceedings.
The South African is the only female professional in her homeland and was thrilled to get on the scorebaord.
Venniker said: “I couldn’t have asked for a better start and the horse made it nice and easy for me. Thank you so much to the winning connections and thank you to Ascot. It was almost hard to pull him up, he won so well! A great start. This is a beautiful track to ride on, and to ride the first winner is more than I could have hoped for.”
Rachel King, riding for the Rest of the World as an adopted Australian but a former amateur jockey in the UK before her career took off, then scored for her old boss Alan King with Insanity (9-2).
The trainer explained how the pair go back an awful long way.
“I love it when a plan comes together! I haven’t been a huge supporter of the Shergar Cup in the past, but I thought it was the ideal race, and to draw Rachel on Thursday was terrific,” King said.
“I think her last ride for me was 16 years ago in a ladies’ hurdle race at Ludlow. She was third, but what I remember is that I couldn’t carry the weight cloth out! She had 11st 5lb or something, and there’s nothing of her. But it’s lovely. It’s great to see her – I haven’t seen her for a long time. We had a good catch up at Olly Murphy’s wedding yesterday.”
Billy Loughnane is only 18, and while Turner was riding in her 17th Shergar Cup, he showed his undoubted class as a star of the future when winning on Owen Burrows’ Jarraaf (5-6 favourite) in the Sprint.
“It’s a lovely thing to be a part of. Hayley has been doing it a long time; I’m only 18 and she’s been doing it 17 years, it’s her gig as she says, but I’m going to try to take it off her!” he said.
“I’m very lucky. I’m in a lovely position with the trainers and owners I ride for and it’s great to be a part of it.”
Going Remote (12-1) was a sole winner for Europe under Bauyrzhan Murzabayev in the Classic.
