How a kamikaze initiation carried jockey James McDonald to the top of his profession

THERE was no Group 1 glory on offer for James McDonald when he faced the riding challenge which defined his career.

THERE was no Group 1 glory on offer for James McDonald when he faced the riding challenge which defined his career.

It was not on the famous turf at Flemington, but when he was a teenager on the family farm at Cambridge in thoroughbred country on New Zealand’s North Island.

And it was no Godolphin blue blood horse, but a pig-headed old stallion called Heza Kamikaze.

He was kamikaze by name and kamikaze by nature. No one had been able to ride him before ... or since.

“My family got him from a Maori man who was going to prison and had to sell him,” McDonald said.

“He was so rough that no one could ride him and we actually tried to sell him a few times.

“But I managed to get an understanding of him and I took him on the equestrian circuit.

“He is still on the farm and I see him a couple of times a year when I pop over to visit my family.’’

James McDonald isn’t one to shy away from a decent celebration. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

McDonald is now the golden boy of Sydney racing and one of the best jockeys in the world, already with 31 Group 1s to his name.

Saturday he hopes to add to his growing collection of Group 1s when he rides Delectation (Stradbroke Handicap), Souchez (J.J. Atkins), Ambience (Oaks) and Etymology (Derby).

McDonald was never destined to be an elite jockey, despite growing up on a horse property and as the son of Kiwi trainer Brett McDonald.

He was once far more interested in motocross circuits than racetracks.

“For the first part of my life I basically hated horses,” McDonald says.

“I loved scooting around the farm on a motorbike and I loved the pure-bred Angus cows we had on the property. I had no interest in horses whatsoever.

Delectation and James McDonald take out the Darley Classic. Picture: Jay Town

“Then mum gave me a day off school to go and ride a horse with her and she took time out to teach me how to ride.

“Before I really knew what was happening, I was riding race horses at trackwork at the age of about 13.”

McDonald made his name in Sydney but on Saturday returns to the Eagle Farm track which first announced him to Australian racing fans.

He was a pimply-faced kid in 2011 when he arrived in Brisbane to ride Scarlett Lady for fellow Kiwi Graeme Rogerson in the Group 1 Queensland Oaks.

It was McDonald’s first Australian Group 1 win and it launched him into the big time of the Australian racing scene.

“I was given a big opportunity that day and it felt like a bit of a sink-or-swim opportunity,” McDonald said.

“I had come from winning premierships in New Zealand and it was always going to be a massive decision to come over to Australia. I didn’t want to just be riding a couple of horses per meeting and struggling to make inroads.

“So Scarlett Lady was a big win for me and she really helped me out in taking another step to where I wanted to be in my career.’’

McDonald now calls beachside Coogee Beach home but makes sure he escapes the Sydney scene whenever he can to head home and go pig hunting.

With so many Group 1s to his name, McDonald does not get anxious before big races but he is never more nervous than when he meets his “big boss’’, Godolphin supremo Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai and Prime Minister of the UAE.

“I’ve met him several times now and he definitely knows what is going on with all of his horses around the world,” McDonald said.

“I was extremely nervous when I met him for the first time, probably because he has such a big entourage.

“But we had a good chat about (two-time Group 1 winner) Contributer and the conversation just flowed from there.’’

McDonald joined Godolphin as a retained jockey in March last year, becoming first-choice rider for trainer John O’Shea.

He is thriving in the role and believes the Blue Army of Godolphin horses are going to become even more prominent in Australia.

“You might lose a couple of opportunities being a (retained) stable rider but you get to ride great horses and I wouldn’t swap it for the world,” McDonald said.

“Over the next few years I think we (Godolphin in Australia) are just going to get better and better and that is really something to look forward to.

“John O’Shea is a tough taskmaster. He demands perfection all the time and he expects his horses to be ridden properly.

“I have the same sort of expectations of myself and we have developed a really good working relationship.’’

Originally published as How a kamikaze initiation carried jockey James McDonald to the top of his profession