Michelle Payne has been confirmed to take part in Ascot’s Shergar Cup, the international jockeys’ competition for which the participants were named on Sunday. Payne, who in 2015 became the first woman to ride the winner of the Melbourne Cup, had been lined up for last year’s Shergar Cup until sustaining abdominal injuries in a fall that kept her on the sidelines through the summer.
The Australian has since turned her hand to training but is still a licensed jockey and hopes to make her Ascot debut at the royal meeting in June aboard the Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained Kaspersky. The Shergar Cup will give her another five mounts at the Queen’s track when the competition is staged on 12 August.
“I’m so excited about riding in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup,” Payne said, “especially after the disappointment of not being able to last year, due to my injury.” The 31-year-old will join Emma-Jayne Wilson and Josephine Gordon in the Girls Team, which won in 2015 but could not follow up last year, despite Hayley Turner making a brief return from retirement to ride a winner.
“We have a great team,” Payne added, “and I’m really hopeful we can do the fans proud and take back the cup.” She made a working visit to Britain in 2009 and had 18 rides around the country, getting experience of York, Epsom and Newmarket among other tracks. Her profile was much lower at the time, however – she was mostly riding outsiders and she enjoyed only one winner. A couple of mounts at Windsor races was the closest she got to Ascot.
Payne achieved fame when partnering the 100-1 shot Prince Of Penzance to Flemington glory, beating Frankie Dettori to the £2m first prize by half a length. She then made even more headlines by describing racing as “chauvinistic” and declaring: “Everyone else can get stuffed [who] think women aren’t good enough”.
She will have another chance to chew over such matters with Dettori, as the Italian is lined up to captain the European team at the Shergar Cup. He will be joined by Alexander Pietsch and Adrie de Vries, who have both been champion jockey in Germany in recent years.
Kerrin McEvoy, who won last year’s Melbourne Cup, will captain the Rest of the World team, also featuring South Africa’s Anthony Delpech and Japan’s Keita Tosaki. The Britain and Ireland team is currently made up of Jamie Spencer, Ryan Moore and Neil Callan, though the “home” line-up can change at a late stage and it would be no surprise if Moore in particular were to find himself employment elsewhere.
Churchill, Moore’s mount in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket a week on Saturday, is enjoying a smooth preparation for the race, his trainer, Aidan O’Brien, said at Navan on Sunday, the Press Association reported.
“He’s fine and everything is going according to plan. Obviously we have two more weeks and it’s so far so good. It’s basic enough really. He’ll have his normal everyday canters and a couple of half-speeds. It’s very straightforward,” O’Brien said. The colt, who won five times last season, is a top-priced 7-4 favourite.
Martyn Meade feels that his colt Eminent, the joint-third favourite at around 6-1, will be helped by his experience of the track in the Guineas. Eminent staked a big claim for the Classic when winning the Craven Stakes at Newmarket on Thursday. His impressive win over Rivet took his unbeaten record to two, with both his wins over the course and distance.
“He’ll know that track inside out, so it must be a huge advantage,” Meade told At The Races. “He’s only 10 minutes down the road, so he will leave when I need to go, which is perfect.
“There was no doubt he needed that race and it will bring him on. There is only so much we can do at home. We’re a bit limited, we don’t have all these Group One horses we can work him against.”
Of all his potential rivals, Meade believes Churchill has to be the biggest threat. “It would have to be Churchill. Just look at his record and he’s had the chance to run on the track as well, so obviously he is the one to beat,” the trainer said.
“The André Fabre horse [second favourite Al Wukair] has run in France three times. He hasn’t been to Newmarket but you can never discount him. I think Barney Roy [at similar odds to Eminent in the betting] we saw on Saturday, I think we should beat him, so Churchill for me is the standout.”
Meade admitted Eminent’s hopes hinge on there being a strong gallop. “If we don’t have pace in the Guineas we’re lost. He needs someone to set that pace to get him going,” he said. “The reason it worked so well on Thursday was because Rivet was there and set a great pace for us. It was the best Craven time in 50 years and you can’t get away from that.”
The trainer is hoping Jim Crowley will be able to continue his association with Eminent. The champion jockey is retained by Sheilkh Hamdan al-Maktoum but, at this time, is unlikely to be claimed by the owner.
Monday’s tips: Chris Corrigan
Kempton
2.10 Corinthia Knight 2.40 Robin’s Purse 3.15 Metronomic 3.45 Luduamf 4.20 Thafeera 4.50 Captain Peacock 5.20 Next Trains Gone 5.50 Halling’s Wish
Lingfield
5.05 Rattle On 5.35 Napping 6.05 Hot Stuff 6.35 Shargiah 7.05 La Vie En Rose 7.45 Star Of Lombardy
Pontefract
2.00 Queen’s Sargent 2.30 Red Tea 3.05 Edward Lewis 3.35 Riptide 4.10 Star Catch 4.40 Henley 5.10 Sakurajima 5.40 Miss Bates
Warwick
1.50 Abbotswood 2.20 Atlantic Storm 2.50 Another Frontier 3.25 Contre Tous 3.55 Big Casino (nap) 4.30 Equus Amadeus 5.00 Saturdaynightfever 5.30 Bear’s Affair
Windsor
4.45 Daddies Girl 5.15 Stepper Point 5.45 Next Challenge 6.15 Rio Ronaldo (nb) 6.45 Mr Khalid 7.15 Desert Cross 7.45 Quite A Story
