Magic of the Shergar Cup lies in its international talent - and this year's cast looks well up to scratch

The best thing about the Shergar Cup has never been the bright colours, or the team-based format (sorry to any Racing League supporters out there), but the variety of jockeys involved. Like everything, the format has its critics, but one of its major achievements has been to shine a light on riders most fans will know precious little about.

That was certainly the case with S'manga Khumalo, who I was lucky to meet when I visited Johannesburg in November for the Summer Cup. After being raised in the notorious Durban township of KwaMashu and not seeing a horse until he was 14, he became South Africa's first black champion jockey. He then made his Shergar Cup debut in 2014 and was still enthused talking about the experience almost ten years later, so much so his agent was hoping for another invitation.

Filip Minarik: winner of the 2019 Shergar Cup DashCredit: Mark Cranham (racingpost.com/photos)

Then there was Filip Minarik, the charismatic Czech rider who landed the 2019 Shergar Cup Dash by a neck aboard Stone Of Destiny on his first outing in Britain. I was part of the huddle surrounding him after his breakthrough success and remember expecting the usual post-race interview only to hear the revelation he had learned how to ride at Ascot playing the Playstation game G1 Jockey.