SHERGAR CUP, NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN, JOSEPH & JUST A RANDOM THOUGHT.

I used to look forward to the Shergar Cup meeting. It was, and no longer is, a day when the minnows could take on the world on a level playing field. That for me was the appeal of the Shergar Cup. It was a day when the under-appreciated female jockey had an opportunity to prove their abilities; to achieve, if the draw favoured them, rides from trainers who in a thousand-years would not think to employ them. Jo Mason came to the attention of William Haggas, for instance, and though she has never become a go-to jockey for him, she has ridden winners for him in the time since the Shergar Cup.

But that element of the day is no more. It might be as a result of male jockeys being unhappy that females were being given opportunities denied to journeyman male jockeys, though more likely that the top female jockeys did not want to be defined by their gender. As I have said, as much as I champion the female riders cause, it is all very well for the likes of Holly and Saffie wanting to be referred to as jockeys, not female jockeys, but for those females thus far 'undiscovered' and who will likely never get the same opportunites offered to them, an appearance at the Shergar Cup could be a life-line, a showcase to demonstrate their ability on a better class of horse.

As anyone who reads my slog-a-blogs will know, I believe Saffie to be  the best female jockey in Europe and worthy of rides in Group races, yet on Saturday she will 'captain'  a team consisting of Ryan Moore and Dylan Browne-McMonagle. Now I know the term captain is a blind for her responsibilities as spokesperson but what can Saffie offer in advice to the best jockey in the world and the man poised to take over his mantle when he chooses to retire? It would be like asking me to captain a team or racing journalists consisting of Lee Mottershead and Peter Thomas! I know that is embarrassing, putting my name in the same sentence as two of the foremost writers to grace the pages of The Racing Post. I simply had to highlight the absurdity of Saffie named captain over two of the world's greatest jockeys.

On Saturday there will be four female jockeys taking part, whereas when there was a female team only three would take part. It will be interesting, though, to witness Marie Velon, Frida Valle Skar and Jamie Melham (she captans the Rest of the World team) riding against some of the best riders from around the world. But it just will not be the same as when Hayley Turner was queen of all she surveyed. When the ladies sprayed the champagne and held aloft the trophy.

They say you cannot teach old dogs new tricks. Some old dogs though can teach themselves. Last season, it took Willie Mullins all the way to the Punchestown Festival before he could overhaul Gordon Elliott and claim his hundredth trainers title in Ireland. That is not going to happen this season as Willie is already leading the way after 10-winners at the Galway Festival, including the Galway Plate, Ireland's richest handicap chase after the Irish National. I suspect it will be plain-sailing for Willie from now on. I just feel so sorry for Gordon, even if  long experience has taught him never to expect to get the better of the Closutton  colossus. One day, Gordon, the world will be your oyster. Perhaps in the first year Patrick holds the licence.

It will not necessarily be plain-sailing in the flat division though for Aidan O'Brien. Yes, he is currently 900,000 euros clear of his son, yet if Joseph is the dominant force on Ireland's Champions Day, with his father suffering a winnerless weekend, that lead could shrink away to a deficit. Last week, Joseph was leading trainer at Goodwood, while he also won 3-times at Galway. Last week will have had no sway on the title race but it is a clear sign that his Owning Stable remains on the up, with no plateau in sight.

This is just fantasy stuff but if for the sake of novelty racecourses put on races with madcap conditions referencing jockeys names, such as restricted to jockeys with the letter T in their names, it might come as a surprise how many jockeys would be eliminated from the jockey pool, Billy Loughnane would be ineligible, as would Oisin Murphy, Rossa Ryan, Ryan Moore, Saffie Osborne, Dylan Browne McMonagle, Colin Keane, and the list goes on. All nonsense, of course, and it is weird what can come to the forefront of an old man's mind.