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Than when the hysterical , over bubbly window of the “Racing League” overlaps with the , equally dreadful “Shergar Cup” ?
Checked out on the Shergar Cup long ago and never checked in on the RL – racing is not a multiple overall team sport in those particular types of format
I have nothing to do with either of them. Their remit of team rivalry must mean tactics come into play which is contrary to the rules of racing.
It’s bad enough trying to avoid non triers at any other time!I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains
I've walked and I crawled on six crooked highwaysTwo of the worst Saturday’s TV racing for me is Shergar Cup day and the Grand National. Watched the Racing League once never again.
The more I know the less I understand.
The worst single moment in racing coverage must be when Graham Goode came out with the incredibly cringeworthy line, “Look at this star, it’s Bahhare” when that colt romped to victory in the 1996 Champagne Stakes.
The Racing League, Shergar Cup, Super Sunday Series…….all initiatives focusing on Flat racing…..We do have another discipline in this country that could do with looking at, and money going towards it.
Some years I’ve not minded it as a stopgap between Goodwood and York but this years event was a bit smelly. The last race was decent and the 3 year old 6f race had me intrigued but the rest was bland.
I still don’t get the point of the racing league and the cards are so so average so I rarely come down on one to back. I can’t see it lasting much longer as I don’t think it has enough pull.
Shergar Cup could do with a little je nais se quois but then again why would they change much when they get good crowds every year.
Maureen not enamoured at the selection of jockeys invited for this year’s edition.
https://www.racingpost.com/news/reports/the-standard-is-noticeably-lower-than-usual-maureen-haggas-urges-ascot-to-improve-quality-of-jockeys-at-shergar-cup-al1zy2l65Hh8/I don’t mind the Shergar Cup as a one-off and enjoy seeing the imported jockeys. At least you can argue with the Shergar Cup that it draws in the attendances each year.
The Racing League has relatively pitiful turn-outs each week and despite the breathless enthusiasm of Alex, Josh and the rest of the Sky Racing team it’s clear it hasn’t captured a scintilla of interest with anyone other than those taking part.I must admit with the exception of a few this has got to be the most dire group of jockeys ever selected.
The more I know the less I understand.
Shergar Cup attendance on the slide as well – 24,000 in 2023 dropping to 18,000 this time around, compare that to what it was between 2008 and 2018 when they got between 28,000 to 33,000.
Maybe the novelty is wearing off but I do think the daft idea to not have a woman’s only team this year was a mistake, even before hindsight kicked in. Its a high enough profile event which in years passed has clearly shown that women can not only compete with their male counterparts but beat them from an equal footing.
The Haydock numbers for their three days supposedly very good.
I think we need to have a clear split between these various “events”. Have the Sunday Series wholly at the start of the season and have it finished by Royal Ascot.
As for the Racing League, it would be nice to have a fixture at a non-ARC track and ideally at Dundalk but that would create all manner of logistical issues. I know originally it wasn’t held during either Goodwood or York and I think that should be re-instated with perhaps a 2 weeks on, 1 week off system through July, August and early September.
As for the Shergar Cup, it’s neither owt nor nowt currently. If you want an International Jockeys’ Challenge (which other countries have to be fair) make it more valuable and perhaps tack it onto an existing festival. Make it the fifth day of Goodwood (with the Stewards’ Cup) maybe.
A Great Britain & Ireland Team should be Buick, Moore and Murphy. An Asia team should have Joao Moreira and Zak Purton and a Rest of the World team should have James MacDonald but how would you get them all to be at one place?
Doubt they have those kind of funds available to throw at the event otherwise they would have already have done so – according to Lee Mottershead’s RP piece:-
“Unlike some international jockey competitions, Ascot does not pay a fee to those taking part in the Shergar Cup. The 12 riders are given business class air travel for two people and a four-night stay at the five-star Pennyhill Park Hotel”.
The prize for winning the Silver Saddle (for the top jockey) is £3k – as is usually the case, UK Racing plays on its heritage/history/prestige angle hopefully being a big enough draw for jockeys to ignore not having a bigger payday…….in the early days of the event that may have worked but given the overall lack of star overseas names this time around that novelty has clearly worn thin.
The other problem is the very best jockeys will want to ride for very large amounts of prize money.
You can have them ride Class 2 or Class 3 handicappers but every race will need to be, I reckon, £150k minimum so make it a million pound race day.
The other question is when as it will need to fit round other big races. One thought I had was to make it the first day of a two day Champions fixture with the second day Champions Day in mid October.
An even bigger farce emerges from the day. 4 jockeys suspended for a total of 32 days for whip offences, including top jockey on the day Hugh Bowman getting 12 days and Karis Teetan getting 8 days for being one over the limit
That should encourage top jockeys from around the world to compete in the event.That includes one of the most experienced in Hugh Bowman (who won the jockey’s Silver Saddle trophy) who was given 12 days for using the whip one over the limit but also for using it in the wrong position and without giving the horse sufficient time to respond.
Surprised with him being caught out as I always thought that the Aussie whip rules were a lot stricter on what you can or can’t do in a race.
There was a total of 16 days handed out to 3 jockeys last year and 10 days for one offence in 2023 so it is a bit of a worrying increasing trend and it will be interesting to see whether any of them come (or are even invited) back for next year’s event.
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