Katie Davis looks to Frankie Dettori for Shergar Cup advice

Katie Davis will look to Frankie Dettori for some sage advice as she prepares to make her Shergar Cup debut at Ascot.

The 33-year-old shot to international fame after featuring in the Netflix series ‘Race For The Crown’ and the multiple US stakes-winning rider is eager to capitalise on any advantage she can gain for her British debut.

Dettori, who famously went through a seven-race card at Ascot in 1996 and is now riding in the US, offered his help to Davis when the pair crossed paths at Saratoga and Davis will have him on speed dial.

She said: “My plan is to walk the track at least twice. It was nice to hear from Frankie Dettori because he’s riding in Saratoga and he’s like ‘Katie, when you get your entries out, you better call me’.

“I said ‘don’t you worry, I’ll call you’, obviously I’m not that stupid. I’m trying to win a race here!

“I breezed two for Wesley (Ward, trainer) on the grass with Frankie, and I was telling Wesley and Frankie and Wesley’s like ‘you’re gonna have a blast, you have to go’. I go ‘I wanted to pick your brain’ and he said ‘I’m not the right person to pick, you gotta pick Frankie’.

“I’ll probably What’s App him (Dettori), kind of send the photos, let him analyse it. It’ll be really nice. I’m really lucky to have him behind me too in this.”

Davis rides in five of the six races in the team competition, with the Andrew Balding-trained Miss Information – winner of the Kensington Palace Stakes at the Royal meeting – seemingly her best chance of victory.

She said: “I’m super excited. I’m not nervous at all, it feels right so I’m just looking for a great opportunity and a great experience, and just go from there.

“It looks tough, but I would like to win a race. It’s what I said the first year I went into Saratoga and I won seven – I’m not saying I’m going to win the whole thing, but I’d like to win one, think positive!”

Davis will compete as part of the Rest of the World team, joining captain Karis Teetan and Australian Hugh Bowman, who previously led the side to victory in 2007.

“I asked why Hugh isn’t the captain because he’s won one of them and we all started laughing,” said Davis. “I said ‘we’re all gonna have fun. let’s enjoy it, bring the best out of each other and kind of see where it goes’.

“There’s no pressure, it’s nice to have teams so you can kind of follow and talk when you’re out there and you’re next to each other going full speed.”

This year’s Shergar Cup has undergone a shake-up, with the Ladies team no longer featuring, leaving the Rest of the World to compete with squads from Great Britain and Ireland, Asia and Europe.

Female riders will still take leading roles though, with France’s Delphine Santiago in the Europe side, while Joanna Mason and Hollie Doyle will both fly the flag for Great Britain and Ireland.

Davis’ sister Jackie is also a jockey and after her sibling previously met Doyle, she is particularly keen to make a connection with Britain’s most successful female rider.

She added: “My sister Jackie has met her, I think she was overseas one year and she raced my sister, and she said ‘you’re gonna love her, she’s just like us’. I really wanted to meet her and obviously I’m going to, so I hope we hit it off.

“It’s always nice that there’s people in the industry that you can talk to and it’s tough being a women.”