Vincent Ho will return to Ascot on Saturday with a very different responsibility from the one he carried seven years ago. The Hong Kong rider, who played a key part in the Rest of the World team’s success in 2019, will this time captain the first Team Hong Kong to compete in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup.
Shergar Cup 2026 will be staged at Ascot on Saturday, 8 August.
Ho will be joined by Jerry Chau and Luke Ferraris as Hong Kong makes its first appearance as a separate team in the four-way competition. The trio will face Great Britain & Ireland, Europe and the Rest of the World in the 25th running of Ascot’s international jockey challenge.
For Ho, the occasion carries significance beyond another appearance on a major international stage. Having graduated through the Hong Kong apprentice system and built his career at home, he views the chance to lead his city’s team as a considerable honour.
“It’s the first time for Hong Kong and it’s huge,” Ho said. “For us to be picked to represent Hong Kong is something very honourable.”
The 36-year-old also knows the scale of the opposition awaiting his team. The Shergar Cup 2026 line-up brings together jockeys with experience at the highest level across Europe, Asia, Australia and India.
Great Britain & Ireland will be captained by Saffie Osborne, who is joined by Ryan Moore and Dylan Browne McMonagle. Moore returns to the competition after a lengthy absence and brings a career packed with major international victories, while McMonagle arrives having further strengthened his reputation during a successful season that included 10 winners in Hong Kong.
Europe will be led by Christophe Lemaire, with Marie Velon and Frida Valle Skar completing the side.
The Rest of the World team has an equally international complexion. Australian rider Jamie Melham captains a trio that includes Japanese great Yutaka Take and India’s Suraj Narredu, one of the most accomplished jockeys of his generation on the Indian circuit.
Ho is under no illusions about the task.
He highlighted Moore, Lemaire and Take among the established international names, while also pointing to the form and experience of Osborne and McMonagle. It is a field that gives the Shergar Cup 2026 one of its strongest jockey line-ups in recent editions.
Ho No Stranger to British Racing
Ascot and British racing are familiar territory for Ho.
During previous breaks between Hong Kong seasons, he spent time in Britain with former trainer Mark Johnston at Middleham in North Yorkshire. Those visits allowed him to gain experience at several British courses, with victories including successes at Haydock Park and Pontefract.
That grounding proved valuable when Ho made his Shergar Cup debut in 2019. Riding for the Rest of the World team, he won the Shergar Cup Mile aboard Power Of Darkness and helped his side secure the overall team title.
Seven years later, his return comes with the added responsibility of leadership.
Ho has ridden 648 winners in Hong Kong since graduating from the Apprentice Jockeys’ School and has accumulated 13 Group 1 victories. Ten of those came aboard Golden Sixty, the champion with whom Ho formed one of the most celebrated partnerships in modern Hong Kong racing.
His career has not been without setbacks. Injuries interrupted his momentum in recent seasons, but the 2025-26 campaign brought a notable resurgence.
Ho finished the term with 38 winners, headed by victory aboard Little Paradise in the Hong Kong Classic Mile. He also partnered champion griffin Hot Delight to four wins during the season.
That return to form adds another layer to his appearance at Shergar Cup 2026, where he will be expected to provide both experience and leadership for Chau and Ferraris.
Six Races to Decide Team Honours
The Shergar Cup retains its familiar team format, with riders competing in designated team colours and collecting points according to their finishing positions.
A victory earns 15 points, with 10 for second, seven for third, five for fourth and three for fifth. The combined scores determine the winning team, while the jockey collecting the highest individual total receives the Silver Saddle.
The Shergar Cup 2026 programme comprises six races over a range of distances, ensuring riders are tested across both sprint and staying contests.
The afternoon begins with the Shergar Cup Dash over 1,000 metres before the Stayers takes the riders over 3,190 metres. The Challenge and Classic are both run over 2,392 metres, while the Sprint covers 1,200 metres and the Mile brings the competition to its conclusion over 1,594 metres.
For Team Hong Kong, however, the afternoon represents more than points and results.
Ho, Chau and Ferraris will be the first trio to compete under a dedicated Hong Kong banner at the event, giving the city its own identity in a competition that has long prided itself on bringing together riders from different racing jurisdictions.
Ho already knows what it feels like to win at the Shergar Cup. This time, the opportunity is different: to lead Hong Kong into new territory at Ascot and attempt to make its first appearance a memorable one.
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