Some horses go better for a woman

Mrs Oakley returned from her latest book club with an uplifting story. The Mother Superior of an Irish convent was 95 and failing. On her deathbed she asked for a drink and a nun went for fresh milk. Espying the bottle of John Jameson occasionally used by the visiting Father O’Shaughnessy for refreshment, Sister Agnes poured a generous measure into the cup of milk. As the Mother Superior drank, one of the nuns asked her what piece of advice she would leave them with for their lives ahead. Suddenly sitting bolt-upright in bed, the old lady declared, ‘Whatever you do, don’t get rid of that cow!’

That sums up how I now feel about Ascot’s Shergar Cup. I was one of the doubters when Ascot began running the team contest that involves trios of jockeys under the banners of Europe, Great Britain & Ireland, the Rest of the World and the Girls competing on a points basis while still striving as individuals to win the races. Owners and trainers like it because entries are free and the prize money is good. I have become a convert because it brings to the racecourse an entirely new crowd who enjoy the cheery razzmatazz of the contest. More than 29,000 of them came this year. The other pleasure is the chance to savour the style of international stars of the saddle who are rarely seen here such as America’s Gary Stevens or Hong Kong’s Matthew Chadwick. This year I was keen to see S’manga Khumalo, the black South African jockey they call ‘Bling’ on account of his addiction to jewellery and blond rinses. I have never seen anyone who gets so low in the saddle taking a horse to post and he was pretty effective on the way back too, beaten by only a neck in the mile race.

The star this year, however, was Canada’s Emma-Jayne Wilson, the lean, athletic horsewoman who captained the Girls team also represented by our own much-loved Hayley Turner and German trainer’s daughter Steffi Hofer.