Luke Ferraris and Jerry Chau Chun-lok celebrated dream maiden winners in the Shergar Cup, and Hong Kong proved its talent pipeline remains one of the best in the world at Asoct.

Captained by the veteran presence of Vincent Ho Chak-yiu, the city’s first team at the event was propped up by young pair Ferraris and Chau, both of whom came into the day preparing for their first rides in Britain.

For those who follow racing in Hong Kong, there was little doubt the pair would thrive. Chau was coming off a remarkable season where he claimed Group Two glory and the Tony Cruz Award for leading local rider, while Ferraris was a model of consistency in a 35-winner campaign.

To say the Hong Kong squad burst out of the gates on Saturday would be an understatement. Chau rode the race of a 25-year veteran in the opener, stalking his rivals aboard Tuco Salamanca before overhauling them effortlessly in the final 200m.

Perhaps in keeping with the campaign just gone, Ho followed home Chau for a perfect Hong Kong start and in the blink of an eye, the team was in dreamland.

In race two, many a younger jockey would not have been able to pull off what Ferraris did. The South African guided Dancing In Paris into the box seat and although that was the perfect position for much of the race, it turned into a tactical nightmare in the straight when he was locked up with nowhere to go.

However, instead of panicking the 24-year-old bided his time until he was able to extricate himself from the inside rail, before shooting to the lead in the closing stages.

For Hong Kong’s head of racing product Greg Carpenter, there was a sense of both pride and vindication, with the choice of jockeys paying dividends. There was recognition at the course too, with Ferraris taking home the trophy for ride of the day.

“For them to showcase their talent, but also learn off some of the greats riding at a racecourse like this, it’s been a great experience,” Carpenter said.

“The team selection was built around showcasing our local talent. Vincent’s been an incredible ambassador and he was an easy selection as captain, but Jerry is a rising star.

“The way he performed in Korea 12 months ago was outstanding and he had a fantastic year to finish fifth to Zac Purton, Hugh Bowman, Andrea Atzeni and Karis Teetan and win his first Tony Cruz award was outstanding.

“Luke has already achieved quite a bit but he’s got the talent to be a star for us for a number of years. So it’s great that we’ve been able to select those and they’ve performed so admirably.

“They’ve taken their responsibilities very seriously and performed well on the track, but also just as importantly have made themselves available to promote the day in Hong Kong and they’re doing it beautifully.”

The quality of riders at this year’s Shergar Cup was abundant, with both Ryan Moore and Christophe Lemaire widely accepted as two of the best jockeys on the planet, while Dylan Browne McMonagle has surged into the spotlight too.

It is hard to argue that this year’s competition was not the strongest for a long while and Carpenter believes Hong Kong’s involvement played a big part in that happening.

“Team competitions bring a different perspective to our sport and I’d have to say our involvement this year and the work that’s been put into it has actually elevated it worldwide,” Carpenter said.

“We were very lucky that Ryan, as the World Pool Ambassador, was able to ride here. Dylan Browne McMonagle’s obviously so well known to Hong Kong fans already after his stint there last December and is hoping to come back again this year.”

When speaking to the jockeys as the dust settled after the trophy presentation, the word proud kept cropping up.

Ferraris has already claimed one of the world’s most prestigious honours, the South African Triple Crown, but representing Hong Kong and riding a winner at Ascot was something he will not forget in a hurry.

“The winner was fantastic – to ride a winner at Ascot is probably one of the highlights of my career so far and for Hong Kong to have their first team here, it was very special,” Ferraris said.

“We started off really well and then I think, in general, our rides sort of dried up towards the end. I think we can be really proud. It’s our first team and the predictions were for Britain and Ireland to go the best, so to finish second on our first appearance was good. Hopefully next year we can get the job done.

“Hong Kong sets you up for everything – if you can ride winners in Hong Kong, I think you can ride winners anywhere in the world. I think we put that on show today, so the boys can be really proud.”