James McDonald carries a note to the track on racing days featuring four key phrases.
‘See it. Feel it. Win it. Enjoy it.’
The top jockey accomplished every one on Saturday, securing his place as Australia’s leading Group 1 rider after Autumn Boy delivered his 130th elite victory in the Rosehill Guineas (2000m).
This success also marked McDonald’s 100th Group 1 win on home turf, and together with Chris Waller, they surpassed the long-standing 54 Group 1s record for a trainer-jockey duo previously set by Tommy Smith and George Moore.
McDonald explained that he avoided social media all week to concentrate on his historic opportunity, and a message from ex-All Blacks coach Sir Stephen Hansen on Golden Slipper Day morning bolstered his focus.
“He said, ‘Walk straight into it. Grab it with both hands and walk straight into it'”, McDonald said.
“I was thinking to myself, imagine him sitting down with the All Blacks, a fifteen squad of men, our greatest sport in New Zealand, and he’s saying, ‘Walk into it. Embrace it’.
“I thought that was quite special.”
The standout feature of McDonald’s accomplishment might be his relatively young age.
At just 34, he is approaching the prime years for most jockeys, yet the modest Kiwi credits his results to superb backing and top-class racehorses.
“It’s lovely, but it’s a testament to the horses that I ride because they are phenomenal,” he said.
“There’s no two ways about it, that I do ride the best horses and most favourites each race and I’m blessed to have that opportunity.”
What elevated the achievement further was overtaking the record of his boyhood hero Damien Oliver.
“To get to a mark like this, it’s obviously special. Especially with how I look up to Damien Oliver,” he said.
“When I was growing up as a ten-year-old kid, he was riding Melbourne Cup winners. One that comes to mind is Media Puzzle when he went through so much adversity and still had the vivacity to come out on top.”
The colt Autumn Boy ($2.45 fav) put in a dominant Guineas showing that was eclipsed by McDonald’s landmark, winning by two lengths from Green Spaces ($21).
Waller expressed mild reservations about entering him in the ATC Australian Derby (2400m), preferring to assess the rest of the Golden Slipper Day card first before deciding.
That said, Autumn Boy proved his stamina over 2000m, opening doors for a potential Cox Plate tilt next spring.
“We’ve ticked the box for 2000 metres. His dad (The Autumn Sun) won it. He’s won it. I’ll pick out some nice races in the spring,” Waller said.
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