Superman Anton Marcus flies in for Shergar Cup
Top South African jockey Anton Marcus will captain a powerful Rest of the World team in this year’s Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup at Ascot August 7th.
Marcus (pictured), who is nicknamed “Superman” in his homeland, is the clear leader in his country’s jockeys’ championship and gained international recognition when winning the 2008 Dubai Duty Free at Nad Al Sheba on Jay Peg.
He will be joined on the team by the highly experienced Yasunari Iwata from Japan, who came to international prominence when winning the 2006 Melbourne Cup on Delta Blues. He also won the Japan Cup on Admire Moon in 2007 and the Group One Yasuda Kinen (Group 1) on Vodka the folliwng year when he took the JRA Award for Best Jockey (in terms of prize money won), ending the seven-year reign of Yutaka Take.
The three-man team will be completed by Luke Nolen, one of the rising stars of Australian racing who is currently clear leader in the Victorian Jockeys’ Premiership.
Nolen, who is retained by trainer Peter Moody, enjoyed the biggest success of his career so far when winning the Group One Cox Plate on El Segundo in 2007. He has ridden Typhoon Tracy to four Group One victories in the last nine months and partnered Wanted to win the Group One Newmarket Handicap in March.
The Europe team will be captained by Frankie Dettori, as long as he is free from riding commitments for Godolphin. Dettori will be joined by fellow Italian Umberto Rispoli, who re-wrote the record books in Italy last season when riding 245 winners, breaking the previous record of 229 winners set by Dettori’s father, Gianfranco, in 1982.
The third member of the European team has yet to be confirmed, but is likely to be either Olivier Peslier or Christophe Soumillon, neither of whom has participated in the event before.
The line-ups for the Ireland and Great Britain teams will be announced nearer the time.
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