The 2026 Shergar Cup signed off with its biggest cheer of the day for the neutrals: Crown Board, a 10/1 shot ridden by Norwegian jockey Frida Valle Skar, ran away with the 4:30 Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Mile by three and three-quarter lengths to give Team Europe a one-two in the Ascot finale.
| Pos | Horse | Jockey | SP |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | Crown Board | Frida Valle Skar (Europe) | 10/1 |
| 2nd | Bullet Point | Christophe Lemaire (Europe) | 7/2JF |
| 3rd | Ozat | Ryan Moore (GB&I) | 7/2JF |
The Race Story
Valle Skar — a 50/1 outsider for the Silver Saddle when the teams were announced — produced the ride of the afternoon on the Jane Chapple-Hyam-trained Crown Board, powering clear of a ten-strong field that had been billed as wide open. Behind her, the finish for the minor honours was a thriller in itself: Christophe Lemaire on joint-favourite Bullet Point took second by a nose from Ryan Moore aboard the other 7/2 joint-favourite, Ozat.
Moore’s third added another seven points to the 40 he carried into the finale after wins in the Challenge and Classic, enough to seal the Alastair Haggis Silver Saddle as leading rider on 47 points, ahead of Christophe Lemaire on 35. Europe’s 25-point haul from first and second was not enough to overturn the team standings either: Great Britain & Ireland, who led Hong Kong 71–62 with one race to run, were confirmed winners of the 2026 Shergar Cup at the presentations that followed.
Tipster Accountability
Our Ascot preview went each-way on Fondo Blanco at 14/1 in the finale, and the tongue-tie made no difference — he finished out of the frame, so the last Shergar bet of the day is a loser. The preview’s market reading held up better: it warned this was “a wide-open market,” and the two morning leaders, Two Tribes and Popmaster, were both swallowed by the race. Of the tracked tipsters in today’s review, Templegate’s interest ended with his beaten NAP in the 2:45, so the ledgers are unchanged tonight.
Looking Ahead
That is the Shergar Cup done for 2026 — a day that began with Archers Bay landing the Classic for Moore ended with the raiders having the last word. The big-race spotlight now swings to Deauville for Sunday’s Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest, and Stephen James settles all of today’s tipster ledgers in Sunday morning’s review.
