Debut win for Rachel in Shergar Cup

Rachel Venniker got the Rest of the World team off to the perfect start when steering the well-backed favourite Holkham Bay to an easy success in the opening dash. 

On her first start in Britain, South African Venniker enjoyed smooth sailing in behind as Alberto Sanna recovered from a stumble coming out of the stalls to set a blistering pace aboard Night On Earth

Holkham Bay pulled well clear of Kylian and Dream Composer, who both contributed valuable points to the Great Britain and Ireland team. 

Venniker said: “The horse did it all. Everything worked out perfectly. I am very thankful for the opportunity. As soon as I asked him the question, he changed legs and I thought they'll never catch me now.

“I couldn’t have asked for a better start and the horse made it nice and easy for me. It was almost hard to pull him up, he won so well! A great start. This is a beautiful track to ride on, and to ride the first winner is more than I could have hoped for.

“I am so proud I've won a race here. What a remarkable feeling. So fantastic to have everyone here I know and spring up a winner; I’m over the moon. It is nice to make South Africa proud and the boss (Michael Roberts) proud.”

Trainer William Knight said: “Fair play to Holkham Bay. With these sprinters, it sometimes takes a bit of time for it all to click together and Kayley, my head girl, who rides him at home every day, does a good job on him. He is not the most straightforward sometimes.

“Rachel gave him a lovely ride. It just worked out perfectly that that horse came on the outside and she was just able to get a tow off it, which brought himself into the race nicely. He was impressive there over the five furlongs. I think he's got to be that sort of Wokingham, Stewards' Cup type horse. He'll go with a little cut in the ground now. He's had a little break from his last race, so I hope we'll have some nice options in the second half of the season.

However, Hayley Turner dropped New Image's head on the line to deny teammate Joanna Mason and Yantarni in the final race of the Shergar Cup, sealing both team honours for the Ladies and her own individual victory in the Alistair Haggis Silver Saddle, which she took on countback after tying South Africa's Rachel Venniker on 35 points. 

The one-two for the Ladies team took them from last to first in the standings and ensured they retained the Cup on 71 points, 11 clear of Europe. 

"There's going to be some celebration now," said Turner, who was cheered in by many of her extended family after she was forced to switch New Image around Yanntari in the closing stages. 

Venniker and Turner both finished on 35 points in the battle for the Silver Saddle but by virtue of having two winners against Venniker's one, the individual prize went to Turner. 

Final team standings
71pts Ladies
60pts Europe
58pts Rest of the World
55pts Great Britain and Ireland

Final standings in the Alistair Haggas Silver Saddle
35pts Hayley Turner (two wins)
35pts Rachel Venniker (one win)
28pts Billy Loughnane (one win)
28pts Jose-Luis Borrego (no wins)