Team Asia made a fairytale start to life in the Shergar Cup, after clinching victory by just a single point on their first appearance in the competition at Ascot on Saturday.

A second-place finish by Mirai Iwata on Cerulean Bay in the finale was enough to secure victory for the trio of Suraj Narredu, Ryusei Sakai and Iwata ahead of Europe, despite the runners-up finishing the day with back-to-back wins.

Captained by Narredu, Team Asia who replaced the Ladies’ team this year, produced a consistent showing across all six races. Narredu is one of India’s most decorated riders after becoming the youngest Indian jockey to reach 1,000 career wins with his 2,000th success coming in 2019.

Narredu himself enjoyed a milestone moment when steering Fireblade to victory in the stayers' race, 16 years after his uncle won at the track. It was also a performance that earned him the ride of the day accolade.

Europe’s day had started brightly when Hugh Bowman opened proceedings aboard Vintage Clarets, who squeezed through a gap to win the Dash, with team-mate Venture Capital in third under Karis Teetan.

Bowman, who has ridden more than 100 Group One wins, went on to claim the Alistair Haggis silver saddle award, 18 years after receiving the leading rider prize on his Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup debut in 2007.

Bowman finished the day on 32 points, with Europe’s Per-Anders Graberg on 26 points making his second appearance in the competition, with Asia’s Ryusei Sakai and Robbie Dolan both picking up 25 points.

Final team standings: Asia 68, Europe 67, Great Britain & Ireland 62, Rest of the World 55.

By Peter Moore