Kerrin McEvoy stunned fans at Happy Valley on Wednesday night to lead all the way in the Longines International Jockeys' Championship as a despised outsider at his first appearance in the event, reports the Racing Post in Hong Kong. McEvoy became the first Australian to win the competition since Damien Oliver in 2003 and led home an Aussie quinella, with Zac Purton winning the final leg to claim the runner-up cheque for the second year running.

"I've never won one of these anywhere, so it's a really great thrill," said McEvoy, who pocketed HK$500,000 for the series win after striking early with an all-the-way victory on Home With Glory in the opening leg at 26-1, that he backed up with a second placing in leg two and that was enough to hold on and take the prize.

"It has come out of the blue, too - I didn't come here expecting much from my rides but I managed to get one early, it was a low scoring night as it turned out and being clubhouse leader had its advantages. Anything can happen when you have a bit of luck at these competitions," said McEvoy.

Punters wagered a record HK$11.2 million on the championship before the opening leg before adding another HK$1.4 million in in-play wagers, and were equally sure they weren't expecting a lot from Darley Australia's number one jockey. He was a 45-1 shot to win the series and his 18 points was the lowest winning score since the series moved from a three-race to a four-race format in 2010.

For the fifth year in a row, the successful jockey in the first leg won the competition and for the third season running, the opening leg winner did the job from barrier to box like Joao Moreira on All The Winners in 2012 and Frankie Dettori on Travel Guide in 2011.

Rival jockeys politely let a positive beginning from McEvoy turn into total dictation of the pace on the Francis Lui Kin-wai-trained Home With Glory and a soft middle section saw him able to boot well clear on straightening with plenty in hand to hold off the finish of Suguru Hamanaka on the favourite Winning Mascot. Things were not as polite late in the run home, though, with Ryan Moore on Redwood Baby being carpeted by the stewards over interference in the last 100 metres as he grabbed third place.

Twelve months ago, trainer Peter Ho Leung had a major influence on the series when he provided three of the four winners and a second, and Lui looked to be following the same path when he led in the second leg of last night's series as well.

This time it was Christophe Soumillon who was able to find the front on Flying Chaparral and was never headed, but crucially McEvoy sneaked up the rail on Expectator to take second in the last 100m and earn the six points that took him clear on 18 but with what appeared to be poor prospects of adding more points with his final two rides.

He had spent his bullets and so had Lui and the complexion of the series changed in the third leg, as another all- the-way winner, this time the Caspar Fownes-trained Fun 'N' Games for Mirco Demuro, put the Italian into contention with one good mount left, while Purton managed to conjure an improved run from the disappointing Rocket Let Win for third, with his best ride to come.