talkSPORT tips – Best bets and expert advice on Shergar Cup at Ascot

There’s something a little different on offer this Saturday, with the Shergar Cup taking place at Ascot and the team-based spectacle draws in jockeys from all over the world.

We’ve got some other quality racing to look forward to across the afternoon.

All six of Ascot’s races will be live on ITV and they are joined by a couple of races from Haydock and the Group 3 Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket.

Wexford, Redcar, Kilbeggan, Ayr and Lingfield provide the rest of the meetings on offer on Saturday.

We’ve tasked our expert with selecting three strong fancies to follow across the afternoon and among them is a progressive Roger Varian runner in Haydock’s feature, the Rose of Lancaster Stakes.

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Saturday’s tips

• 1.55 Newmarket – Graceful Song @ 11/8
• 2.25 Haydock – Sallaal @ 10/11
• 3.20 Ascot – Thunder Call @ 15/8

1.55 Newmarket – Graceful Song @ 11/8

Billy Loughnane’s stock rises with every season and the partnership he has developed with leading trainer Charlie Appleby is eye-catching.

The pair have a strike-rate of 62 per cent when combining on the July Course and Loughnane rides GRACEFUL SONG here.

This daughter of Dubawi is out of a Group 3 winning mare and the dam is a half-sister to Prince of Wales’s Stakes winner State Of Rest.

She has only had one start to date, but the two-year-old left a very good impression that day, where she was held up early on.

The result was never in doubt once Loughnane said go and kicked clear to score by two-and-a-quarter lengths over course and distance.

Improvement seems likely and this filly looks like one to keep an eye on moving forward.

2.25 Haydock – Sallaal @ 10/11

Roger Varian is in excellent form at the moment and he runs the very progressive SALLAAL in Haydock’s feature contest, the Group 3 Rose of Lancaster Stakes.

His pedigree certainly catches the eye, as the four-year-old is by Frankel and out of Group 1 winner.

Making only one start as a two-year-old, he won a 7f novice at Yarmouth in October 2024, before going on to win a novice and a decent handicap, both at Hamilton as a three-year-old.

Things didn’t quite go to plan in a couple of Listed races on soft ground after that.

Taking a big step forward this year, he was an impressive winner of a seemingly competitive handicap at Epsom on Oaks Day.

It’s therefore no surprise that he won a Listed contest at Sandown with plenty in hand recently and a similar effort should be enough this time around.

3.20 Ascot – Thunder Call @ 15/8

Leading trainer William Haggas has landed plenty of winners in the last couple of weeks and he runs the lightly raced THUNDER CALL in this competitive-looking race.

It’s likely that the three-year-old remains ahead of the handicapper, having had just two starts in this sphere.

Making his seasonal debut at Kempton in May, he produced a much-improved performance and absolutely bolted up in the end, going on to score by six lengths.

He then made a successful switch to handicaps when winning a very valuable race up at York.

Haggas’ colt was far from disgraced when finishing third in another decent handicap at Newmarket last time out and the handicapper has left his mark alone.

There’s a significant amount of scope for further improvement and another big run is anticipated.

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