Wilson to return to Ascot in August for Shergar Cup

ETOBICOKE, Ontario – Jockey Emma-Jayne Wilson once again will head to Ascot Racecourse in August to defend her Shergar Cup jockey-challenge title as the captain of the Girls team.

Wilson, Sammy Jo Bell, and Hayley Turner combined to win last year’s Shergar Cup, marking the first title for the Girls team in the 15-year history of the event. This year, Wilson will captain the Girls team for the second consecutive year and will be joined on the team by Cathy Bannon and Melbourne Cup winner Michelle Payne.

“I’m very excited,” Wilson said. “They had mentioned to me when we finished up that they were looking to have me back as captain, but the official invite came a few months ago. I was anxiously awaiting the announcement of the team and the competitive teams as well. It’s a good event every year, and I’m very much looking forward to it.”

The Shergar Cup pits 12 top international jockeys against each other in a six-race challenge. Jockeys earn points based on their finish position in each race, and the team that earns the most points is declared the winner. There are four teams of three jockeys: Britain and Ireland, Europe, Rest of the World, and the Girls.

“The Shergar Cup is such a unique competition that offers such a twist on Thoroughbred racing,” Wilson said. “It really appeals to the fans. The experienced fans get a chance to see 12 top international jockeys compete, and new fans that don’t really watch the races all that much get to cheer for a team they can relate to.”

The event will take place Saturday, Aug. 6, which Wilson said works well with the Woodbine schedule.

“The scheduling works out almost perfectly,” she said. “We have holiday racing here on Monday, and then we don’t race on the Wednesday, so I’ll probably be flying out on the Tuesday. I will miss Woodbine on Saturday and be back for the Wonder Where [Stakes] on the Sunday.”

This year’s Shergar Cup will be Wilson’s fifth appearance at the event. Her first was in 2006, and she competed in 2012, 2014, and 2015. Wilson has won three Shergar Cup races, including last year’s Shergar Cup Challenge with Missed Call over 1 1/2 miles on turf.

Stacked Deck to Vigil Stakes

Stacked Deck, Canada’s champion male sprinter of 2015, was scheduled to make his seasonal debut in the Jacques Cartier Stakes here April 9 on the meet’s opening day but was a vet scratch at the gate. Trainer Barb Minshall said Stacked Deck is in good order following the scratch and will point toward the Grade 3 Vigil Stakes over seven furlongs on the Tapeta on May 7.

“He’s fine,” she said. “He’s 100 percent.”

Minshall also said that Grade 2 Canadian Stakes winner Strut the Course likely will make her first start of the year in the Grade 2 Nassau Stakes over a mile on the E.P. Taylor turf course May 29.

“She’s been great,” Minshall said. “It probably looks like the Nassau unless there’s a prep or something, but it looks like Nassau.”

Both horses were with Minshall at her winter training base at the Webb Carroll Training Center in South Carolina.

Conquest Enforcer nears return

Conquest Enforcer, who defeated current Queen’s Plate favorite Shakhimat in last year’s Cup and Saucer Stakes on turf here, is back in training and working toward a return to racing.

Trainer Mark Casse said Conquest Enforcer was scheduled to breeze at Woodbine this weekend after he had been training at Winding Oaks Farm in Ocala, Fla. Conquest Enforcer recorded his first published work of the year on dirt at Winding Oaks on March 24, covering three furlongs in 36.00 seconds.

Conquest Enforcer hasn’t raced since the Cup and Saucer last October after an incident in the detention barn following the race.

“After the race, he tied up very badly in the detention barn, and we brought him home,” Casse said. “He was fine when we got him home. He just had a little of this and a little of that, and I just took my time with him. He’s done well.”

Prior to the Cup and Saucer, Conquest Enforcer finished fourth in the Grade 2 Summer Stakes behind stablemate Conquest Daddyo.

Casse said he doesn’t have a target race picked out for Conquest Enforcer.

“We’re just going to let him tell me when he’s ready,” he said.