Racing: Goto anxious to beat the drum at Ascot's carnival

Hiroki Goto, one of the rising stars of the Japanese weighing room, was suitably impressed with his first visit to Ascot, during the Royal meeting in June. The ambience appealed to one of his ordered nature. "It was very civilised, very beautiful," he said. "In Japan, the fans are interested mostly in gambling. Ascot felt like a very good culture, also interested in horses."

Goto will return to the Berkshire track on Saturday, where he will perform before a somewhat different audience. He is the Shergar Cup rookie on the day when racing dares to be different. A team of jockeys representing the Rest Of The World are due to take on a team from Great Britain & Ireland and while the equine Ryder Cup – as it was once billed – this occasion ain't, it has not only survived but flourished in the three years since its disastrous inauguration.

The first running, at Goodwood, was, by any standards, a fiasco. The Ascot authorities took a gamble in taking it over but, not for the first time, Douglas Erskine-Crum and his team have hit the mark. They have dropped the pomposity and turned the fixture into a day for all, public (of all ages) and professionals alike.

Vinnie Jones will once again present the footballing masterclass that had the under-14s agog last year, alongside similar offerings in their own sports from the two designated captains, John Parrott from the world of snooker and former champion jockey Michael Roberts. At the end of the afternoon there will be a concert, with beer and barbie available, by Natalie Imbruglia from Australia.

It may irk the purists in the sport that the only way an ordinary day's racing can become a sell-out is by appending a popular beat combo – witness Newmarket last month when Jools Holland appeared and this Friday for the visit of Status Quo – but the strategy is that some of the air-guitarists might just return another day.

For the professionals, Ascot is offering six 10-runner races with no entry fee and a total of £335,000 in prize money, paid down to last place in each case. In other words, guaranteed appearance money, a unique concept in this country.

There will be a £7,500 prize for the trainer with the most points and £100 to every stable lad with a horse competing. Unsurprisingly, there was a bumper entry of 178 horses yesterday as trainers voted with their feet. Most, however, will be disappointed as the fields are whittled down on Thursday.

The Juvenile has attracted the biggest entry, 44. There are 34 in the Mile, 25 for the Distaff, and 25 each in the Stayers', the Challenge and the Sprint, the last-named the finale and the richest race, with a purse of £100,000. Its entries include Feet So Fast, one of the Stewards' Cup favourites until his late defection.

And even if the concept of racing as a team game is artificial and the outcome of the jockeys' match immaterial, the day does give the pundit the opportunity to see some foreign stars at work in a relaxed, relatively ordinary ambience, rather than at intense Group One level. Kieren Fallon and his squad – Kevin Darley, Pat Eddery, Michael Kinane, Johnny Murtagh and Richard Hughes – are familiar enough, but American-Mexican David Flores, Gerald Mosse from France, Doug Whyte, the South African/Hong Kong ace, Australian Craig Williams, German Andreas Suborics and young Goto less so.

The 28-year-old Japanese, who is riding in Ireland today and will move to France after the weekend as part of his European summer tour, did not have horses on his mind when he was at school. "I wanted to be a chef, but my mother decided that because I was small I should be a jockey," he said.

"I am glad now that she did. The experience of riding in England has been a challenge to my imagination. I am still learning all the different tracks but I hope on Saturday everyone will hear more of Hiroki Goto."

The rival attractions on Saturday include the Rose Of Lancaster Stakes at Haydock, chosen by Godolphin as the likely comeback for Naheef, the blue team's Guineas and Derby flop. The Group Three contest was used as a confidence-booster last year by another early-season under-achiever, Nayef, and Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford confirmed yesterday: "Naheef's had a nice break and he's ready to go."