Cup has come of age and is easier on the eye

The annual eye test for commentators – the Shergar Cup is today's centrepiece. It is not just the discomfort of seeing familiar horses in unfamiliar silks but the fact that for many years the differences between the various colours were negligible, indeed one colleague after a particularly unnerving experience was heard to mutter that hopefully the Cup would prove well named and like Shergar disappear without trace!

Thankfully, in recent renewals things have improved, as indeed has the whole concept, with the expansion to four teams making it far more competitive than the original two-team format. Nowadays it deserves its place in the calendar, which needs at times to be a broader church in order to appeal to new disciples and where experimentation can exist alongside tradition.

Betting-wise, the rather odd dynamic of a team competition in a sport in which team tactics are outlawed makes things tricky as does on occasions the accurate communication of orders to the riders. There should be no such problems for Sir Michael Stoute, trainer of Darshini in the 2.20 for whom Joe Fanning could prove an ideal partner. Providing neither reserves get promoted then Fanning, who is excellent from the front, could dictate a steady tempo on a horse who may see the trip out better than danger Baadi.