Doyle’s Thunder Call enters Shergar Cup as favorite

British jockey Hollie Doyle has named her Thunder Call operation as the big player to watch ahead of Saturday’s Shergar Cup at Ascot, the annual international flat-racing showdown that decides the best team of the summer.

The six-race contest, broadcast live on Sky Sports Racing from 2.15pm, pits the continent’s best riders against Britain and Ireland in a mix of sprints, middledistance and staying races. Doyle, the 2023 leading rider, steered Thunder Call to victory in that year’s final event and now has the yard’s 2024 team in her sights. “We’ve got some good horses going to Ascot,” she told Sky Sports. “I’m really excited to be riding for them again and to have a crack at the title.” Thunder Call’s entry list includes the improving three-year-old filly Time Waits, who ran prominently in last month’s King George Stakes at Goodwood.

Doyle’s connection with Thunder Call is the headline story of this year’s contest. The yard has quietly built a reputation for producing horses that peak at the right time; Time Waits finished fourth at Goodwood, just a length and a half off the winner, and arrives at Ascot in competitive form. The Shergar Cup itself is a nine-year-old event that has become a summer highlight, drawing crowds of more than 30,000 to the Berkshire track. Prize money totals £400,000 across the six races, with the overall team prize worth £100,000 to the winning nation.

Saturday’s card features a field of 48 horses, evenly split between the four teams. France and Germany, the two lowest-ranked nations, will each field five horses rather than the usual six, after late withdrawals. Doyle’s British team, captained by Frankie Dettori, will face Ireland, France and Germany in a series of handicaps and conditions races that reward tactical awareness as much as sheer speed. The event is also a key warm-up for jockeys and horses targeting the Qipco British Champions Series later in the year. A strong Shergar Cup showing can boost confidence, bookmakers’ odds and year-end prize money. Doyle’s ambition is clear: repeat last year’s success and secure the individual title alongside the team prize.