Japanese riding sensation Nanako Fujita excited to be part of Shergar Cup team

Last week it was an equine Japanese star who dazzled in Britain when Deirdre won the Nassau Stakes at Glorious Goodwood. This Saturday, jockey Nanako Fujita will be aiming to deliver more success in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup.

One of two Japanese riders taking part in the unique team event this year, Fujita, the only female jockey among the Japan Racing Association ranks, is a rising star of the weighing room, and demonstrated her prowess on the international stage earlier this year when winning the Women Jockeys' World Cup at Bro Park in Sweden.

She will form part of the women's team, captained by Hayley Turner, while compatriot Yuga Kawada will captain the Rest of the World side.

Commenting on her chance to ride at Ascot, Fujita said: "When I heard that I had been selected as a member of the Shergar Cup, I couldn't believe it.

"I thought 'really, me?' I have watched racing at Ascot
once before, and dreamed that some day I would ride there. Now it will come true."

Fujita, who will celebrate her 22nd birthday on the eve of the Shergar Cup, is delighted to be paired with Turner and Australian rider Jamie Kah.

"I'm happy to race with the famous Hayley Turner," Fujita added. "I also heard from my friend who has ridden in Australia that Jamie Kah is an excellent jockey."

To date, Fujita has ridden 92 career winners, including her two successes at Bro Park in June. She will be hoping Saturday's meeting goes more smoothly than her previous experience in Britain at Sandown in 2016.

Set to compete in a round of the HH Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies World Championship, Fujita was unable to participate when her intended purebred Arabian mount, Ultimate Force, unseated her in the paddock and then got loose, leading to the horse being withdrawn.

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