'I'm just glad to be here' - how a world champion jockey went missing before the Shergar Cup, but still rode a winner

The riders at this year's Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup are ready and raring to go, which is a far cry from 12 years ago when a world champion jockey nearly caused chaos at Britain's unique team-based competition.

Joao Moreira, the Brazilian-born rider nicknamed the 'Magic Man' who has dominated the likes of Hong Kong, Singapore and his native country, lived up to his name when disappearing days before racing was set to begin. He would be the main part of the pre-racing drama that unfolded for the Rest of the World team before the 2013 Shergar Cup.

All seemed well when Moreira's plane arrived on Wednesday and he rented a car from his hotel for his stay, but then it all went horribly wrong.

On the Thursday Moreira disappeared, phone calls attempting to locate him went unanswered, his rental car was not returned on time and even his agent could not get hold of him.

When he still could not be contacted the following day, it was feared the Magic Man had actually disappeared. Stress levels within the Shergar Cup team were sky high. Where would they even file a missing jockey report?

All ended well however. Moreira finally resurfaced to say he was somewhere in the countryside, unsure of where he was but he suspected not far from Flat racing's headquarters in Newmarket.

Thankfully, he was collected in time to get to Ascot and his detour around Britain did not impact him showcasing his talents on the card — nor from appearing at the competition twice more — after he landed the Dash on Ahtoug for Godolphin.

He simply said afterwards: "I'm just so glad to be here – it's just a delight. Getting a winner is a dream come true."

The drama with the Rest of the World team did not stop with Moreira either. Gary Stevens was detained by immigration officers following a mix-up at Heathrow, while Rosie Napravnik nearly missed the competition after her flight from the US was cancelled.

They probably echoed Moreira's thoughts too after their rather eventful Shergar Cup build-ups. They must have been just glad to be there.

Looking for free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.