Horse racing: Kiwi James McDonald reclaims tag of world’s best jockey

James McDonald winning on Romantic Warrior in Hong Kong earlier this year. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand jockey James McDonald sits atop of world racing again.

McDonald celebrated winning the 2024 Longines World’s Best Jockey Award for the second time with a double at Sha Tin, Hong Long on Sunday night.

McDonald was assured his second World’s Best Jockey title when Auguste Rodin finished eighth in the Japan Cup (2400m) in Tokyo on Sunday under Ryan Moore, leaving the New Zealander with 160 points to Moore’s 150 for results in the World’s Top 100 Group 1 races.

“It’s a huge honour and it’s just reflective of all the good horses I’ve ridden,” says McDonald.

“I could almost name it the Romantic Warrior Award, to be honest with you, because he was such a huge contributor,” McDonald said of the Hong Kong galloper who earned him so many points toward the award.

“He’s obviously a world champion in his own right, so you have to be part of those sort of horses, the Via Sistinas of the world, so those two horses (Romantic Warrior and Via Sistina) were huge contributors and it’s a huge honour.

“I’m very proud of my year.”

McDonald rode nine winners at the highest level since December 1, with Romantic Warrior providing four of those victories: the Hong Kong Cup (2000m), Citi Gold Hong Kong Gold Cup (2000m), FWD QEII Cup (2000m) and Gr.1 Yasuda Kinen (1600m) in Japan.

McDonald, who has ridden three doubles in three successive meetings for six wins from 24 rides since returning to Hong Kong for a short-term stint, previously won the Longines World’s Best Jockey Award in 2022. — racing.com

Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s racing editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.