Racing Confidential: James McDonald unlikely to ride again this season

Winter racing continues at Rosehill Gardens on Saturday, but punters won’t be able to rely on their favourite jockey when they’re doing the form for the 10-race card.

Champion jockey James McDonald has taken a well-earned winter break and isn’t expected to ride in races again this season after almost certainly securing a seventh successive Sydney premiership.

McDonald has already ridden 83 city winners and is well clear of Zac Lloyd (64 wins) and Jason Collett (63 wins) with only eight meetings remaining this season.

Unless Collett has an extraordinary month (Lloyd is also currently on holidays) McDonald may not return to race riding until the first meeting of the new season on August 2.

But McDonald, who rode a career-best 21 Group 1 winners this season, will ride at the barrier trials later this month where many of trainer Chris Waller’s leading spring carnival contenders including Horse of the Year-elect Via Sistina are due to compete.

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Meanwhile, Blake Shinn has recovered from a serious foot injury and will return to race riding at Sandown next Wednesday.

Although Shinn hasn’t ridden for over a month, he still leads both the Melbourne premiership on 67 wins from Craig Williams (59 wins) with only seven city meetings remaining for the season.

Shinn also still leads the national premiership on 150 wins but Perth’s Willie Pike is pressing on 149.5 wins and has a full book of eight rides at Pinjarra on Saturday.

Blake Shinn is poised to secure another Melbourne jockeys’ premiership after a remarkable recovery from what was initially season-ending bone bruising.https://t.co/I9jm0SGKZe

— Racenet (@RacenetTweets) July 2, 2025

• Rosehill Turf Talk: Best bet gets key gear change, plus a $71 tip

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Group 1 upgrade on cards for Golden Eagle this year?

Lake Forest (left) wins the 2024 Golden Eagle from Lazzat (centre) and Tom Kitten. Picture: Jeremy Ng / Getty Images

There is some chance the Golden Eagle will be elevated to Group 1 level this spring carnival.

Racing Australia and the Australian Pattern Committee are finalising criteria for the grading of feature races that will be more objective rather than subjective, and to ensure it complies with international standards.

If the criteria is adopted by every state jurisdiction, it will result in some races being downgraded so even if the Golden Eagle is given Group 1 status, it won’t increase the number of elite races in Australia each season. There was 76 Group 1 races during 2024-25 which is generally considered to be too many.

The Golden Eagle was introduced in 2019 and has quickly established itself as one of the higher rating races each season with the 2024 renewal, won by English raider Lake Forest, particularly outstanding.

👏 @WilliamHaggas has done it again!

Lake Forest wins the $10 Million Golden Eagle with Cieren Fallon in the saddle!@aus_turf_clubpic.twitter.com/Hr3IR1vG2x

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 2, 2024

There were eight runners who finished behind Lake Forest who have since won at Group 1 level either here or overseas – Lazzat, Tom Kitten, Stefi Magnetica, Port Lockroy, Joliestar, War Machine, Skybird and Ascoli Piceno – thus providing more compelling evidence to elevate the Golden Eagle to Group 1 status.

• Shayne O’Cass’s race-by-race tips, analysis for Rosehill Gardens on Saturday

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Williams throws support around midweek Highways

Trainer Gayna Williams. Picture: Bradley Photos

Gayna Williams is the latest leading country-based trainer to throw their support behind the introduction of TAB Highways at city midweek meetings.

Williams suggested the midweek Highways could be restricted to Class 2 horses and Saturdays reserved for Class 3.

Saturday’s TAB Highway at Rosehill is a Class 3 and has attracted a full field of 14 plus eight emergencies after receiving 34 nominations earlier in the week.

The Highways invariably have capacity fields each Saturday and there is a push for Racing NSW to consider adding another Highway or a race for country-trained horses only to midweek meetings to ensure there is always at least seven races each Wednesday.

• ‘Our best-ever season’: Darby tons up as the winners keep coming

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New lion joins the Pride

El Castello keeps on winning and is now a Group 1 winner! He takes the Spring Champion Stakes for @ACummingsRacing under @JoshuaParr8 🏆 pic.twitter.com/2qEtjFLnFa

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) October 26, 2024

El Castello, winner of the Group 1 Spring Champion Stakes earlier this season, has joined the Joe Pride stable at Warwick Farm.

Pride will prepare the talented rising four-year-old for the spring carnival, taking over from part-owner Anthony Cummings who had his licence to train revoked by Racing NSW when his business went into liquidation.

El Castello reeled off four consecutive wins last spring including the Gloaming Stakes-Spring Champion Stakes double but hasn’t raced since a luckless fifth behind Goldrush Guru in the Victoria Derby last November.

Originally published as Racing Confidential: James McDonald unlikely to ride again this season