Wednesday 8 August 2012

Great Britain & Ireland Team: Dubai Duty Free and Shergar Cup

On Saturday 11th August four teams battle it out to win the coveted Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Trophy. Today we focus on the last team, Great Britain & Ireland:

The Team Anthem - Thin Lizzy's The Boys Are Back In Town


 

Kieren Fallon (Captain, Ireland) - Plain Silks

Born on February 22, 1965, in County Clare, Ireland, Kieren Fallon joined Kevin Prendergast's yard as an apprentice in 1983. Piccadilly Lord at Navan on June 18, 1984, was his first winner. He moved from Ireland to ride for Jimmy FitzGerald' s Malton stable from 1989 until 1991 and then spent three years with Lynda Ramsden' s yard from 1993 until the end of 1996.

At the start of the 1997 Flat season, Fallon was a surprise appointment as stable jockey to the Henry Cecil yard and promptly won the 1000 Guineas on Sleepytime and Oaks on Reams Of Verse. He ceased riding for Cecil in August, 1999, and was first jockey to Sir Michael Stoute in 2000 and 2001 after which he freelanced, still riding many of the Stoute team, before becoming retained rider to owners Michael Tabor, Sue Magnier and Derrick Smith in 2005.

He tasted Classic success when partnering Dancing Rain to victory in the German Oaks in August, 2011, before steering Krypton Factor to a comfortable success in the Group One Dubai Golden Shaheen on Dubai World Cup Night in March this year. He rode his first British Group One winner for six years on the Brian Meehan-trained Most Improved in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 19, 2012.

Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Wins: 2002 Tout Seul; 2003 Kinnaird, Shabernak; 2004 Pentecost

Johnny Murtagh - Hoops Silks



Born in Co. Meath, Ireland, on May 14, 1970, Johnny Murtagh who’s married to Orla and has five children, was apprenticed to John Oxx and became Irish champion apprentice in 1989. In 1995 he became Irish champion jockey (he was also champion in 1996, 1998 and 2009). He has since gained international prominence, winning the 1995 Breeders' Cup Mile on Ridgewood Pearl and the following year's Beverly D Stakes on Timarida.

He was the most successful rider at Royal Ascot in 2001 with five wins, including the Gold Cup on Royal Rebel and St James ' s Palace Stakes on Black Minnaloushe, aboard whom he also won the Irish 2,000 Guineas. He won the 2002 QIPCO 2000 Guineas for Aidan O ' Brien on Sir Alex Ferguson ' s Rock Of Gibraltar and landed a second Investec Derby on what again seemed the O ' Brien second string, High Chaparral, and landed a third renewal of that Classic with Motivator in 2005.

Murtagh’s association with the O' Brien stable saw him win a string of top races on stars such as Henrythenavigator, Duke Of Marmalade, Mastercraftsman, Fame And Glory, Rip Van Winkle, Dylan Thomas, Peeping Fawn, Cape Blanco, Soldier Of Fortune and Yeats, who he was aboard for a record-breaking fourth success in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in 2009.

Last season yielded further success for Murtagh, with Dancing Rain winning the Investec Oaks, Jukebox Jury dead-heating in the Irish St Leger and Lightening Pearl triumphing in the Cheveley Park Stakes. Dancing Rain and Deacon Blues formed a memorable double on British Champions Day in the British Champions Fillies’ And Mares’ Stakes and the British Champions Sprint Stakes respectively.

No previous Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup wins

James Doyle - Stars Silks



Born in Cambridge on April 22, 1988, Doyle comes from a racing family. His mother Jacqui, who now acts as his agent, formerly trained in Lambourn while his sister Sophie is a useful rider. He began riding out for his mother at the age of 10 and had his first winner on Farnborough at Wolverhampton on June 1, 2005.

He hit the headlines with a treble at Lingfield on January 25, 2006. But after quickly riding out his claim, the 5ft 9in Doyle - one of the tallest jockeys in the weighing room - the winners began to dry up and by 2010 he considered turning his back on racing and even enrolled on a plumbing course.

However, an upturn in the number of winners in 2011 caused Doyle to reconsider his decision and he never started the plumbing course. Horse whisperer Gary Witherford recommended Doyle to trainer Roger Charlton and he became first jockey to the Beckhampton handler this season.

The partnership started 2012 on a high when Cityscape won the Group One Dubai Duty Free at Meydan in March and enjoyed another big race success when Al Kazeem stormed to victory in the Group Two Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket in May.

Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup debut.

To find out whether the Rest of the World Team win the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup, purchase a ticket today. Tickets from £26 per person. Generous group discounts available. To book, call 0844 346 3000 or visit ascot.co.uk

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