James McDonald earned more cash than Zac Purton during his Hong Kong stint

Superstar jockey James McDonald cashed in during his 37-day stay in Hong Kong, pocketing more prizemoney than compatriot Zac Purton during that time.

James McDonald enjoyed his time in Hong Kong. Picture: HKJC

James McDonald has beaten Zac Purton at his own game.

In October 2022, Purton famously told J-Mac he was “stupid” for staying in Australia and not chasing the riches on offer in Hong Kong.

“At the end of the day when he looks at his bank account and he looks at my bank account, he’s stupid for staying in Australia,” Purton told SEN.

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“He can stay (in Australia), win all the trophies, get all the accolades, and at the end of his career he’ll still have a mortgage on his home. It’s as simple as that. Financially it just doesn’t make sense.

“You can make six to seven times comfortably (in Hong Kong) what he would make a year.”

Well, McDonald has just had a taste of that life, completing a 37-day stint in the Asian racing mecca and pocketing more cash than the six-time Hong Kong champion over the same period.

In Hong Kong, a jockey gets 10 per cent of the prizemoney for winning and 5 per cent for finishing second to sixth.

McDonald’s 15 winners earned $HK35,296,800, meaning he trousered a total of $HK3,529,680 ($A664,137), the bulk of which came from Romantic Warrior’s brave victory in the Group 1 Hong Kong Cup.

Wunderbar caps a J-Mac treble! The star rider returns a three-timer on the final day of his short-term contract... 🔥 @mcacajamez#LuckyStart | #HKracingpic.twitter.com/awPyARiFiX

— HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) January 1, 2024

In that same period, Purton had 19 winners ($HK29,439,600) but only snared himself $HK2,943,960 ($A553,883) because they were in lesser quality races.

His Group 1 victory, the Hong Kong Sprint with Lucky Sweynesse, was worth significantly less than the Cup while 12 of the 19 came in Class Four or Class Five.

In contrast, 11 of McDonald’s 15 successes came in Class Three or above.

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Across 12 meetings from November 26 to January 1, McDonald collected a grand total of $HK50,398,695 in prizemoney, his share a very healthy $HK4,284,774.75 ($A806,140).

For the season so far, that $HK50,398,695 number is second only to Purton ($HK92,120,285) and ahead of the likes of Karis Teetan ($HK50,136,960), Vincent Ho ($HK49,963,165) and Hugh Bowman ($HK25,953,550).

Not bad for 5½ weeks’ work – J-Mac certainly knows what Purton was talking about now.

But Purton, as usual, will end up having the last laugh given the maximum tax rate in Hong Kong is 15 per cent while the Australian Taxation Office will take a much bigger bite out of McDonald’s earnings.

Originally published as James McDonald earned more cash than Zac Purton during his Hong Kong stint