McDonald Approaching the Swinging Sixties

With four-and-a-half months left of the 2020-21 racing season left, champion jockey James McDonald is sitting on a statistic which is at least the equivalent of a big cricket Test century. Following Saturday's meeting at Rosehill Gardens, where the expat kiwi hoop added Group wins in the Gr2 Phar Lap Stakes and Gr3 Magic Night Stakes, McDonald has now finished in the frame on 58 separate occasions in black-type events since 1 August 2020. Leading the Australian Jockey Black Type Premiership on 367 points over Jamie Kah (350) and Damien Oliver (302), among Jaymac's 58 stakes performances are 21 victories. Only two of those wins have come in Group 1 races – both aboard champion Verry Elleegant (Zed) in the Winx Stakes and Chipping Norton Stakes. Kah, who has the category-leading 25 black-type triumphs, has also secured two Group 1 wins, while each of Oliver and fourth-placed Craig Williams have claimed three elite successes, as has Damian Lane who shares seventh position with William Pike. Indeed, it is the Magician from the west who is the front-running rider for Group 1 seasonal wins, Pike having won aboard Arcadia Queen (Pierro) in the Neds Stakes, Ole Kirk (Written Tycoon) in the Caulfield Guineas, Inspirational Girl (Reliable Man) in the Railway Stakes and Celebrity Queen (Redoute's Choice) in the Oakleigh Plate dead-heat. Click Here to view all Australian Black-Type jockey performances for the current season.