J-Mac attack: NZ jockey James McDonald sets record with stunning Group 1 treble at Rosehill

Kiwi-owned and trained Autumn Boy gave James McDonald sole ownership of the record for Australasian Group 1 wins by a jockey. Photo/ Bradley Photos

Kiwi racing hero James McDonald ticked off one of the biggest goals of his career in Sydney on Saturday.

The champion jockey first equalled then took sole ownership of the record for Group 1 wins by an Australasian jockey with an early feature-race double at Rosehill.

The previous record of 129 wins at Group 1 level, the most elite in horse racing, was held by Australian Damien Oliver, and McDonald equalled it when New Zealand-bred mare Aeliana narrowly won the A$1 million ($1.2m) Ranvet Stakes for expat trainer Chris Waller.

McDonald then made the record his own in the very next race when he rode Autumn Boy perfectly to come out of the one-one sit and bolt away with the A$750,000 Rosehill Guineas.

Fittingly, Autumn Boy was also trained by Waller and is owned by South Island-based owner Glenn Ritchie, who built and owns the Ritchies Bus company.

“It is a relief,” says McDonald as he came back to an adoring crowd aboard Autumn Boy.

“I am lucky I get to work in a sport I absolutely adore and have so much support from so many great trainers all around the country.

“And I have such a great team around me and of course my family, so to have them here today makes if even more special.

“The build-up has been so huge during the week and so many people have said so many kind words.

“But I really didn’t come here today to try to break the record, I came here to try and win races and because of two really good horses I have been able to do that.”

To add an exclamation mark to the record day, McDonald then rode champion stablemate Autumn Glow to remain unbeaten in the A$1m George Ryder Stakes, taking that new record to 131 Group 1 victories.

McDonald has had Oliver’s record in his sights for almost a decade, a sort of unofficial scoreboard of who is the all-time greatest big-race jockey in this part of the world.

Now he has set the new mark, the questions of “what next” and “how many” will be on many racing fans’ lips.

McDonald is seemingly in his prime and while it is hard to imagine him becoming any more dominant, barring injury it is hard to see why his power base or talents would start to wane anytime soon.

He told the Herald this week a career tally of 200 Group 1 wins isn’t impossible, the sort of numbers no jockey has even been mentioned in the same sentence with before.

However, McDonald is only 34 and could ride at the highest level for another 10 or even 15 years.

What he can achieve in the saddle before the end of his career seems only bound by how long he wants to keep doing it.

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.