Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Preview: Ascot gears up for a global team showdown on Saturday, 9 August 2025, with elite riders converging for an afternoon where tactics, team orders, and individual flair share the same stage. The team format, tight scoring, and quick tactical turns make this one of the summer’s most watchable cards.
Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Preview: What to expect on 9 August
Expect fast-paced, competitive handicaps across multiple distances with riders swapping instructions between races to maximise team points. For more international build-up and global racing context, see RaceBuzz’s international coverage early in your prep.
The Rest of the World trio blends class and contrast. Australian Hall of Famer Hugh Bowman—synonymous with Winx—returns for his third tilt at the Shergar Cup, 18 years after his UK debut season sharpened his racecraft from Musselburgh to Salisbury. With one previous win in the event, Bowman arrives intent on lifting his strike rate on Ascot’s famous straight and round courses.
Rest of the World captain Karis Teetan, the Mauritian star of Hong Kong racing and a former South African champion apprentice, brings tempo sense and cool decision-making. It’s his first competitive ride at Ascot, but he has already tapped local know-how from British greats to adapt quickly to the track’s undulations and late-race rhythms.
Adding American spark is multiple Stakes winner Katie Davis, who leans on advice from Frankie Dettori while embracing the team dynamic. With racing in her blood—father Robbie, brother Dylan, and husband Trevor McCarthy all top riders—Davis arrives primed to make smart, aggressive moves when the gaps appear.
Key storylines in this Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Preview
Across the divide, Asia field their inaugural team under Suraj Narredu—one of India’s most decorated jockeys with nearly 2,500 wins and inspiration drawn from Dettori’s Magnificent 7 at Ascot in 1996. Narredu follows in the footsteps of his uncle Malesh, a 2009 participant, and carries both personal pride and national expectation into the contest.
Great Britain & Ireland’s Robbie Dolan arrives with headline credentials after last year’s 90/1 Melbourne Cup shock aboard Knight’s Choice, proof that big-race temperament and patience travel well. Europe’s captain Per-Anders Graberg, a 2018 Shergar Cup winner on debut, completes a compelling cast after returning from a serious pelvis injury—resilience that suits Ascot’s testing finishes.
Format-wise, the Shergar Cup rewards consistency and teamwork. Expect captains to balance mount selection, pace scenarios, and finishing positions to keep their squads in the hunt through the last race. Ascot’s straight six and testing mile often punish early moves; seasoned hands typically wait, then strike late as the field fans across the track.
Fans looking to plan their day can check Ascot Racecourse for event information and on-the-day logistics, while sponsors and event partners are showcased by Dubai Duty Free. This Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Preview highlights the blend of sporting showmanship and tactical nuance that defines the fixture—and why the format continues to draw world-class jockeys back each year.
From Bowman’s seasoned poise to Teetan’s leadership, Davis’s debut energy to Narredu’s landmark appearance, every leg carries consequence. If momentum is everything in team sport, then reading the pace early and timing the split late should decide the destination of the trophy. Either way, as this Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Preview suggests, Ascot is set for an afternoon where international rivalry and racing theatre meet in full voice.
