Winners from Fran Berry and Colm O'Donoghue inspired Ireland to a late comeback victory in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup at Ascot.
The team jockey competition has now been secured by the Irish for the last three years, but skipper Richard Hughes's team had to wait until the very last race to pass Great Britain and the Rest of the World.
The decisive moment came in the Dubai Duty Free Shergar Cup Sprint when Berry and the Peter Makin-trained Morache Music (6-1) led home O'Donoghue and Desert Law. This meant Ireland finished on 70 points, Britain on 63, the Rest of the World on 57 and Europe on 50.
Paul Hanagan's third place on Firebeam, added to a winner in the opening race, allowed the British captain to win the Silver Saddle as the top rider.
Berry said: "That was a good way to end the day. When we were pulling up we were doing our sums and we thought we'd got it.
"I had a great day here last year and I'd like to thank Ascot for the opportunity to come back. If we could work it out we'd love to do something similar in Ireland as it seems a great way to get new people into racing."
With cheerleaders and plenty of razzmatazz, the Shergar Cup attracts some derision from within the sport, but a young-looking crowd of over 30,000 had made their way to Ascot, so Berry's instincts appeared to be correct.
Ireland's other winner came from Parlour Games (15-2) in the Titanic Belfast Shergar Cup Classic and it was slightly ironic that O'Donoghue's mount was provided by Godolphin trainer Mahmood Al Zarooni, as the jockey usually rides for the team's great rival Aidan O'Brien.
The chestnut was improving on his earlier form this season as he was driven three-quarters of a length clear of favourite Ithoughtitwasover.
O'Donoghue said: "There are great jockeys from around the world competing today and it's really nice to be part of it. I spoke to Frankie Dettori about the horse this morning and his advice worked well. It's about getting in there and getting the job done and I'm happy to ride a winner for the connections."
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