Good things come to those who wait and for Ben Thompson, his long wait for a first win in Hong Kong finally ended at Happy Valley on Wednesday night.

Starved of success in his first 48 rides in the city, the lightweight Australian jockey ended his drought when he booted home $41 long shot Courier Magic for Jamie Richards.

Thompson, whose best result was four fifths before the breakthrough victory, hailed the triumph “an amazing result for my career”.

“It’s taken a couple of weeks, but it’s extremely rewarding to ride a winner here,” Thompson said.

“It’s very surreal. I’m sure it’s not going to sink in straight away … but [it’s] a huge thrill and big thanks to Jamie Richards, connections and his entire team.”

A prominent rider in Queensland in recent years with almost 800 career wins, Thompson remained positive despite the quiet start to his 16-meeting contract, which ends on April 4.

“No matter whether you’re starting off in Australia or any expatriate going to an unfamiliar country, all you want to do is ride winners,” he said.

“But no winner comes easy so I didn’t expect anything to be easy here, especially when it’s the most competitive racing jurisdiction in the world amongst some of the best riders in the world.

“Albeit tonight caps my first winner, I feel like what I’ve learned over this first three and a half weeks has been invaluable. Just watching other riders, dealing with the trainers and seeing the way they train. It feels like months worth of experience and learning in the matter of three and a half weeks.

“It’s been amazing. I’m extremely grateful to the Hong Kong Jockey Club for the opportunity and hopefully there’s more winners to come.”

Thompson capitalised on Courier Magic’s improved draw in barrier three to settle the Savabeel gelding fourth on the inside rail in the Class Five Kwoon Chung Cross Boundary Service Handicap (1,650m).

Poised to strike behind the leaders on the turn, Courier Magic was angled off the fence by Thompson and sprinted powerfully down the centre of the track, surging to the lead at the 100m and drawing clear.

The one-and-a-half-length victory was also a breakthrough for Courier Magic, whose best result from seven previous starts was ninth.

“It gave me confidence that he was a fit horse and his last six starts, he’d drawn barrier nine or wider,” Thompson said.

“Today he had barrier three and he was extremely fit. In between runs, he had a trial late February at Conghua and he had blinkers on, so he looked to really improve with the blinkers on.

“I thought he ticked a lot of boxes. He needed everything to go right on the night and thankfully it did.”

Richards was reluctant to add blinkers to Courier Magic because of his fiery temperament, but the galloper’s lacklustre form forced his handler to make the change.

“We were getting to the stage where we had to do something and Savabeels usually improve when you put blinkers on,” Richards said.

Richards scored a double when Celestial Colours won the second section of the Class Three Kwoon Chung Bus Cup (1,200m) for Hugh Bowman, who also won the previous race on Ricky Yiu Poon-fai’s Solar Partner.

Yiu also claimed a brace, having won the opener with Colonel. Tony Cruz recorded a race-to-race double with Colourful Emperor and Red Hare King, who overcame a wide run throughout to win the Class Three New Lantao Handicap (1,650m) under Matthew Chadwick.

“It was a tough win, but it was a race where everything was ridden upside down,” Chadwick said. “The pace wasn’t fast, to be honest, and he was comfortable and in a smooth rhythm.”