Racing: Low-key Sakhee fails to prove wellbeing

Ex-Cecil horse eclipses Godolphin star to enter Arc picture while home riders enjoy clean sweep at Ascot

Here at Ascot, bread and circuses; at Deauville, gladiators. The highlight of yesterday's domestic sport was the novelty international jockeys' contest, the Shergar Cup. But the most significant event of the afternoon was, win or lose, the return to action of one of the true draws of the game, a champion horse.

Lose it was, though. At the hands of Wellbeing in the Prix Gontaut-Biron, Sakhee met his third defeat since his brilliant Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe victory and, even allowing for his not being fully wound up after a five-month absence, it was a disappointing display.

The Godolphin flagbearer had been working with much of his old verve at home in Newmarket, but the fragility of his knees is well-documented and it may be that two hard races on dirt – that so-gallant second in the Breeders' Cup Classic and a lower-key third in the Dubai World Cup – have lowered his discomfort threshold.

He was travelling comfortably enough under Richard Hills, who deputised for chicken pox victim Frankie Dettori, for much of yesterday's 10-furlong contest but failed to pick up as he and Wellbeing asserted their class in the straight and went down by a length.

His tilt at next month's Irish Champion Stakes, and a putative clash with one of the star Ballydoyle three-year-olds, is now under question. "Obviously we don't like to see the horse beaten," said Godolphin's racing manager, Simon Crisford. "That was below his best and he needed to win to take him forward. We'll have to take him back home and see if we can come up with something."

Yesterday's race carried Group Three status, but Wellbeing, like Sakhee, is better than that. The son of Sadler's Wells, who carries the famous apricot Plantation Stud colours, was short-head runner-up in the Coronation Cup last year when trained by Henry Cecil. Transferred in the close season to Pascal Bary on the basis that he would get his essential easy ground more often in France, he hacked up on his seasonal debut in April and yesterday's performance must put him right in the picture for the Arc.

The concept of the Shergar Cup, fought out between teams of jockeys representing Great Britain and Ireland and the Rest Of the World, is best approached with a bushel of salt. The farcical moment when John Parrott, celebrity manager of the home side, staggered into view before the fourth race bearing a giant playing card to announce that he was playing his joker perhaps summed it up. Come back, Stuart Hall, all is forgiven.

Racing is, above all, about individual effort and to overlay it with a team format, especially one that is imbued with any semblance of significance, is a nonsense. There was an air of the emperor's new clothes about proceedings as racecourse and TV pundits tallied and exclaimed over the race-by-race points standings.

Kieren Fallon, captain of the home squad, sailed dangerously close to the wind in terms of the rules of racing as he threw himself wholeheartedly into the games. Racegoers were treated to the rare sight of the Irishman apparently deliberately allowing advantage to a rival on a couple of occasions. Riding Distant Diva in the Distaff, he got out of the way of colleague Richard Hughes to ease his passage to victory and, even more obviously, pulled the trailblazing Jasmick wide off the final turn in the Stayers, letting Mana d'Argent and Moon Emperor through for his team 1-2 and interfering with South African Doug Whyte on Riyadh in the process. The stewards took a dim view of the manoeuvre and cautioned Fallon. Neither was Hughie Morrison, Jasmick's trainer, impressed to see the champion fail to ride to hold-up orders on the filly.

Total prize money of £350,000 was excellent for the quality of horse present; lavish appearance money was guaranteed for owners and professionals involved; and a large crowd – 23,434 – turned up. Some will have been drawn by the spurious racing competition or the prospect of seeing some foreign riding stars. But most will have been there for the sideshows, like the Vinnie Jones football masterclass and post-race pop concert.

On Friday evening, 20,000 jammed the turnstiles at Newmarket to see rock legends Status Quo and some pre-gig racing. Perhaps Roman satirist Juvenal had the right idea.

For the record, the Great Britain and Ireland team, whose members won every race, took the Shergar Cup by 137 points to 110. Richard Hughes was leading rider with a 1,227-1 treble on Bouncing Bowdler, Goldeva and King's Welcome.

The best horse on view may have been Feet So Fast, who landed a hat-trick in the concluding Sprint by a comfortable three lengths under Mick Kinane. Trainer Willie Musson predicts a bright future for the progressive three-year-old, who will upgrade to Group company in the Diadem Stakes back here next month.

The transfer of the season's first Group One juvenile race, the Phoenix Stakes, from Leopardstown to the Curragh today should not alter Ballydoyle's hegemony. Aidan O'Brien has sent out the last four winners of the six-furlong contest, Johannesburg, Minardi, Fasliyev and Lavery. Today the unbeaten Hold That Tiger is Kinane's choice from the four O'Brien candidates to follow suit among the 10 runners.