‘I'm still improving': James McDonald reveals his relentless pursuit of riding perfection
'There's always room for improvement, without a doubt,'' McDonald said.
'I'm tweaking a few things this year, trying some different ideas to see if they work, trying to get a bit more out of my body.
'I'm good friends with a lot of sports people and I like to get their ideas, maybe more so in preparation, to see if I can improve physically and get better.
'Obviously, not every piece of information that comes your way is right for you but until you try it, then you don't know if it works.''
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McDonald has ridden more than 2300 winners including 119 at Group 1 level during his outstanding career and is a certainty for Hall of Fame honours sooner rather than later.
But McDonald's admission that he is still improving as a rider is a glaring example of the single-minded pursuit of excellence that drives Sydney's superstar jockey.
It is also a warning to his peers that the 32-year-old jockey many already regard as the world's best can only get better.
In an exclusive interview with News Corp, McDonald reveals his ambitions for the 2025/26 racing season, his horses to follow this spring, the riding records he covets most, and if a move to Hong Kong is imminent.
THE NEW SEASON
McDonald has begun his quest for an eighth successive Sydney jockeys premiership and has five rides at Royal Randwick on Saturday including early favourites World Alliance and Glad You Think So.
He is coming off a career-best season which included 21 Group 1 wins with his mounts earning nearly $60m prizemoney worldwide.
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It will be very difficult to exceed those results in 2025/26 but McDonald says he is up for the challenge.
'I realise it is going to be hard to repeat last season but I've thought that every year since 2021 when I won The Everest and Melbourne Cup,'' McDonald said.
McDonald rode what was then a career-best 11 Group 1 winners for $37.1m prizemoney in 2021-22 but in the three seasons since, he has improved those returns each time.
He rode 14 Group 1 winners for $44.8m in 2022-23, then 19 majors for $56.3m in 2023-24 before his record-breaking efforts last season.
'I was very proud of my 2024/25 season, that's for sure,'' McDonald said.
'But there are new goals for the new season and I will be trying to replicate what we did last season in 2025-26.''
HORSES TO FOLLOW
A glimpse of the equine talent McDonald rode at Randwick's Thursday barrier trial session this week gives the jockey reason to be confident he can have another season to remember.
McDonald rode some of Hall of Fame trainer Chris Waller stable's main spring carnival contenders including champion Via Sistina, outstanding four-year-old mares Lady Shenandoah and Autumn Glow, and gifted three-year-old colt Wodeton.
'We are very lucky with the calibre of horse Chris has in his stable,'' he said.
'If you look at Lady Shenandoah, Autumn Glow and Aeliana, they are only young horses but they cover the sprinter, miler and staying ranks.
'Then there are the older, established horses like Via Sistina and Fangirl.
'Via Sistina has come back a lot heavier than she was this time last year and she has felt massive in her trials. She looks to have returned in great order.
'To be fair, I haven't sat on Fangirl so far this preparation but from all reports she is going as well as ever.
'Wodeton is a very talented colt who is also trialling very well. He is not a big, heavy colt but he has returned longer and taller, and he's very athletic.''
James McDonald and Chris Waller have 47 Group 1 wins together – the second highest jockey-trainer combination. Picture: Getty Images
McDonald also rates highly another two of Waller's promising three-year-old team, Central Coast and particularly unbeaten Autumn Boy.
'Central Coast is a bit of a sleeper,'' he said.
'The colt has kept improving with race day experience and can continue to make the necessary steps for sure.
'Autumn Boy jumped out of the ground late last season. He is very much in the mould of his father (The Autumn Sun) and I think he is the one that has the most scope to improve.
'He has so much raw ability and if he keeps progressing like his father did then the ceiling could be very high with him.''
THE RECORDS
McDonald is chasing three of the great George Moore's most coveted riding records this season.
He is aiming for an eighth successive Sydney premiership and his 10th title overall. Only Moore has managed these feats.
Plus, the partnership McDonald has with Waller has already netted them 47 Group 1 wins together – the second highest of any jockey-trainer combination in Australian racing history behind Moore and Tommy Smith with 54 majors.
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McDonald is something of a racing purist and is cognisant of Moore's longstanding records.
'I also admire those jockeys before us like George Moore and Darren Beadman who have set these very high standards,'' he said.
'One of my goals this season is to chase the record of Tommy Smith and George Moore for most Group 1 wins. We are not far from it.''
Autumn Glow is among a number of emerging horses McDonald is looking forward to riding this spring. Picture: Getty Images
McDonald said it is an honour to be in the conversation with two legends of Australian racing.
'When you talk about Tommy Smith and George Moore, they are the greatest trainer-jockey combination of all-time,'' he added.
McDonald has got his title defence off to a good start with a winner at the opening meeting of the season on Amusing at Rosehill last Saturday and another success on Slinky at the Canterbury midweeks.
But any thought of getting close to Beadman's all-time Sydney record of 164 wins set in 2006-07 was dismissed by McDonald.
'That won't be happening,'' he said.
HONG KONG CALLING
One of the main reasons McDonald won't get close to Beadman's Sydney riding record is the expectation he will spend nearly two months riding in Hong Kong again after the spring carnival.
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'I'm likely to have a stint in Hong Kong later in the year,'' McDonald said.
'It works really well for me because it is a change of scenery for six weeks or so.
'It is like a little freshen up, a change is as good as a holiday, as they say, but I still have to get that ticked off by the (Hong Kong) Jockey Club.''
McDonald's success in Hong Kong in recent years has inevitably led to speculation that he will eventually move there permanently.
But the champion jockey was noncommittal when asked about the likelihood of riding full-time in Hong Kong.
'You never say never,'' he said.
'But I like riding in Sydney and I like riding the good horses.
'I've got great working relationships with most trainers, especially Chris (Waller). We had a fantastic year last year and for now I'm focused on domestic targets and the spring carnival.''
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