Meet the international jockeys riding in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup.
International Jockeys set for Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup
Emma-Jayne Wilson (Canada)
Emma-Jayne Wilson is a riding phenomenon from Canada, with nearly 1,000 wins to her name.
She burst onto the North American racing scene in 2005 when landing the riding title at Woodbine. At its 167-day meet, Wilson rode 175 winners from 1,096 mounts, becoming the first female to take the title in its 50-year history, and only the third ever apprentice to do so.
She rode her first winner on only her second ride - a horse called Ali Olah at Fort Erie, on August 28, 2004, and enjoyed an annus mirabilis in her first full season as an apprentice, recording a first Stakes victory on board Classic Stamp in the Grade Two Bell Canadian Stakes to go with her leading jockey title at Woodbine.
Wilson retained her leading jockeys' title at Woodbine in 2006 with 144 successes and became the first female rider to win the Grade One Queen's Plate, part of Canada's Triple Crown, when scoring on board Mike Fox in June, 2007.
Wilson competed in the Hong Kong International Jockey Challenge in December, 2007, and was granted a licence to ride in the former colony the following winter.
As of August 6, 2012, she has recorded 988 wins in her career with prize money of more than US$46 million. Wilson, who won the inaugural Pimlico Female Jockey Challenge in June, 2011, is making her second appearance at the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup, having participated in the competition in 2006.
Chantal Sutherland (Canada/USA)
Born in Canada, Chantal Sutherland is a leading jockey in both her homeland and the USA.
After her initial success on Silver Bounty at Woodbine on October 9, 2000, Sutherland quickly established herself as one of the brightest talents in North American racing and gained the Sovereign Award for Canada's top apprentice jockey in 2001 and 2002.
In 2008, she rode five winners in a day and that season also saw Sutherland partner future Kentucky Derby hero Mine That Bird to three stakes race successes at Woodbine.
In March, 2011, she partnered Game On Dude to victory in the Grade One Santa Anita Handicap, becoming the first female jockey to win the historic contest and she enjoyed another Grade One victory on the same horse in the Goodwood Stakes, also at Santa Anita, in October.
Game On Dude also enabled Sutherland to become the first woman to ride in the world's richest race, the Dubai World Cup, at Meydan in March, 2012.
Sutherland is also a well-known celebrity off the track. She starred in the reality series "Jockeys" on Animal Planet, had a recurring role in the HBO TV series "Luck" and remains an aspiring actress.
As of August 6, 2012, Sutherland, who is 5f 2in, has ridden 929 career winners with earnings of $46,187,950.
Andreas Suborics (Germany)
Andreas Suborics was born in Austria and rode his first winner on Donjana at Vienna on April 4, 1988, and moved from his homeland to Germany in 1993 and is currently based in Cologne.
His first major win on the European scene came at Longchamp in the 1996 Group One Prix de la Foret, partnering A Magicman to victory and Suborics has gone on to enjoy success at the highest level around the world.
The 2001 season was most memorable for Suborics, largely thanks to the globetrotting Silvano. He rode that horse to success in the Arlington Million in Chicago as well as the Singapore Cup at Kranji and the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin, Hong Kong.
In 2002, Suborics won the German jockeys' title for the first time with 82 winners and was champion again in 2004 and 2006. In 2004, he partnered his first Deutches Derby winner in Shirocco and won the German Oaks on Amarette.
In recent seasons, the most famous horse he has partnered is the superstar Hungarian sprinter Overdose although the partnership was denied a famous victory in the 2008 Prix de l'Abbaye when the race was declared void.
In March, 2010, Suborics sustained head injuries following a fall when riding work in Hong Kong and, on medical advice, announced his retirement that August. However, in December, 2010, the jockey revealed that he had made an excellent recovery and had been given the green light by doctors to resume his riding career.
Cristian Demuro (Italy)
Italian champion jockey Cristian Demuro is the youngest brother of five-time Italian champion jockey Mirco Demuro.
Cristian grew up in Rome and had experience with show jumpers before joining the Pisa Racing School. He graduated in 2008 and joined Bruno Grizzetti's stable - one of the leading yards in Italy.
He rode his first winner on Peperita, trained by Grizzetti, at Varese Racecourse on May 7, 2009, at the tender age of 16; he partnered a further 43 winners in 2009 and was champion apprentice.
After a good start to the 2010 season, he was appointed stable jockey to the biggest stable in Italy but also had a second agreement with Grizzetti and with the backing of two big stables, Demuro proved he was a top-class pilot, finishing second in the jockeys' championship.
In 2011, Demuro rode in Japan between January and March before returning to Italy and partnering an astonishing 222 winners to be crowned champion jockey.
Demuro enjoyed a successful spell back in Japan earlier this year and, since his return to Italy in mid-March, Demuro has amassed over 100 winners.
Yutaka Take (Japan)
The subject of national adulation in Japan, where he is the country's top sporting figure, Take rode his first winner on Dyna Bishop at Hanshin on March 7, 1987, and won 69 races when champion apprentice that year, a record for a first season rider.
Take has been champion Japanese jockey 18 times and his 2005 title saw him win a record 212 races and he has won races at Group One level for 24 consecutive seasons.
In 1991 he became the first Japanese rider to win a Pattern race overseas when taking the Grade Three Seneca Stakes on El Senor at Saratoga and was also the first to win a Pattern race in Europe (1994 Prix du Moulin on Ski Paradise at Longchamp) as well as the first to score in Britain (2000 Darley July Cup at Newmarket on Agnes World).
He partnered the great Deep Impact in all of his races, including the 2005 Japanese Triple Crown and, on July 22, 2007, Take established a record in Japan when recording his 2,944th success at a Japan Racing Association (JRA) track, passing the record of 2,943 achieved by Yukio Okabe.
On November 3, 2007, Take reached another milestone in his career when becoming the first JRA rider to record 3,000 victories. That win, on two-year-old Sky Beauty at Kyoto racecourse, was his 14,288th JRA ride and came 20 years and eight months after the jockey made his career debut.
Aaron Gryder (USA)
Aaron Gryder grew up in West Covina, California, near Santa Anita Racecourse and, although he had little contact with horses when he was younger, he was influenced by his father and uncle, who were racing fans, and wanted to be a jockey.
He left home aged 13 to learn to ride at the invitation of former jockey Rudy Campas and returned to Santa Anita to ride professionally at the age of 16. He partnered his first winner on January 19, 1987, on Ragin Henry and quickly established himself as a leading jockey at Agua Caliente in Tijuana Mexico.
He accepted a request to return to California and finished 1987 as the leading apprentice at Hollywood Park which also yielded his first Grade One winner courtesy of Asteroid Field in the Matriarch Stakes.
Gryder's career took off after that and he moved east, gaining riding titles and big race victories at some of the main tracks on the midwest and east coast circuits. He has won titles at Churchill Downs, Arlington Park and Aqueduct, where he was the leading rider on four consecutive occasions between 1998 and 2001.
During the 1999/2000 meet he rode a remarkable 94 winners, 32 more than his nearest rival. He moved to California in 2007 and partnered his 3,000th winner on Pressthepace at Santa Anita on March 7.
After returning to the west coast, he built up a good relationship with European import Well Armed, riding him to victory in the Grade One Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita in September, 2008, before partnering the Eoin Harty-trained gelding to a stunning 14-length victory in the world's richest race, the Dubai World Cup the following March - the biggest winning margin in the event's history.
In November, 2009, Gryder moved to Hong Kong after securing a licence to ride there during the winter and enjoyed a successful spell before returning to America after riding in the inaugural Meydan Masters series in Dubai in March, 2010.
Gryder has made frequent appearances on television, starring on Animal Planet's series "Jockeys" whilst he also offers analysis on TVG. He also had television roles in "Dellaventura" and "The Sopranos".
Gryder, also involved with children's charities, is one of the founders and directors of The Giving Circle, originally created to help Hurricane Katrina victims and now helps communities all over the world.
Gryder has partnered 3,556 North American winners (up to July 2), with earnings of over US$111 million and has ridden in Britain once before when American-trained Diamonds Galore finished third in the 1992 Nunthorpe Stakes at York.
Matthew Chadwick (Hong Kong)
Matthew Chadwick is the rising star in Hong Kong racing after a sensational start to his riding career.
Matthew's passion for horses and riding was ignited on a holiday to Britain where he rode ponies and, although achieving good grades at school, he signed up for the Hong Kong Jockey Club's training scheme aged 14. As with many young jockeys, the HKJC sent Chadwick to Australia to gain some experience.
He started in Australia at Maryann Thexton's Gold Coast stable and rode his first winner at Beaudesert, before joining Brett Bellamy ahead of the Coffs Harbour Festival. On June 21, 2008, Chadwick had his first rides for Bellamy at Lismore. On a five-race card, Chadwick had four rides and won all of them, including the feature Kyogle Cup.
He continued to impress many racing professionals and punters in Australia, riding a further 21 winners before being granted a licence in Hong Kong in December, 2008.
He was based with leading trainer Tony Cruz and despite starting late, he ended the 2008/09 season as champion apprentice with 43 winners. The 2009/10 season yielded more success for Chadwick, including his first Group victory on Egyptian Ra in the National Day Cup.
In January, 2010, he set a new benchmark when riding out his claim (70 winners) in a one year and three weeks, the fastest in Hong Kong history and ended the season in fourth place in the jockeys' championship.
In February, 2011, he gained his first HK Group One victory on California Memory in the Hong Kong Gold Cup before partnering the grey gelding to an even bigger success in the Group One Hong Kong Cup in December, 2011, becoming the first homegrown jockey to win a Hong Kong International Race.
Chadwick has been based with Charlie Hills in Lambourn ahead of his appearance at the Dubai Dury Free Shergar Cup and enjoyed his first winner in the UK on the Hills-trained Red Explorer at Ffos Las on July 24.
