Fresh from emphatically securing the Sydney autumn’s rider of the carnival honours with another Group 1 win last Saturday, James Mcdonald turns his attention to unfamiliar territory as he continues his pursuit of 100 career wins at the elite level.
The champion jockey will make his South Australian debut at Morphettville this Saturday, when he will team with Chris Waller in the two $1 million Group 1 races.
McDonald will ride dual Group 2 winner and last year’s Group 1 Tatt’s Tiara runner-up Roots in the 1200-metre Sangster Stakes and one of Chris Waller’s runners in the Australasian Oaks.
Waller has four fillies nominated for the 2000m event, including pre-post favourite Concello, who ran third in the Group 3 Adrian Knox Stakes at her most recent outing.
South Australia is the only Australian state that hosts Group 1 racing that McDonald has not ridden in and the Kiwi is pleased it has worked out that he can get there this year.
“It just hasn’t really fitted in but this year, correct me if I’m wrong, there’s not normally two Group 1s on the one day, so it worked out well,” McDonald told RSN927.
“Chris Waller is going to take a couple down, which suits us, and we’re able to get a couple of good chances throughout the day.”
McDonald bagged Group 1 win number 95 when he partnered Broadsiding to Champagne Stakes success at Randwick on Saturday, which was his sixth Group 1 win of the Sydney autumn.
Zougotcha won two of them, the Coolmore Classic and Queen Of The Turf, while he won the ATC Derby on Riff Rocket, Vinery Stud Stakes on Orchestral and the Ranvet Stakes on Via Sistina.
“It’s been outstanding, I’ve been rapt with it, the calibre of horse that we were riding throughout the carnival has been sensational,” McDonald said of his Sydney autumn.
“To come away with six Group 1s over the five weeks was really satisfying and I’m very, very proud of it.”
Morphettville is not McDonald’s only shot at a Group 1 win this weekend with the 32-year-old to head to Hong Kong for Sunday’s Champions meeting, where he will be reunited with local superstar Romantic Warrior in the Queen Elizabeth II Cup (2000m).
“It’s going to be some race, there are some fascinating horses coming across – Dubai Honour and Prognosis – so it’s not going to be a walk in the park, that’s for sure,” McDonald said.
“Hopefully he performs as he always does. He doesn’t run a bad race,” McDonald said.
