You can take a boy out of the country but you can't take the country out of a boy.

AIDAN RODLEY

Champion jockey James McDonald has broken the New Zealand record for season wins. As the 19-year-old closes in on being the first to claim 200 wins in a single year, Waikato Times racing editor Aidan Rodley talks with him about his phenomenal record and future. By Mike Scott

Bright lights of the world's biggest racing cities are beckoning James McDonald.

The 19-year-old jockey from Cambridge has the thoroughbred world at his feet.

Success breeds success and McDonald's achievements in such a short period have not gone unnoticed.

Doors to opportunities with some of the most influential figures in the bloodstock world are opening. He is seen as a winner, a jockey with potential to be one of the world's best, and that sort of talent is keenly sought by those with the influence and wealth required to be major players at the top end of the global racing industry.

The kid from Kaipaki is already a New Zealand racing phenomenon but now he is on the brink of international stardom.

All he has to do is sign on the bottom line.

But McDonald has yet to commit. And he says he is in no hurry.

It's not that he lacks ambition; he fully intends becoming the next Frankie Dettori.

But the transformation from celebrated New Zealand rider to distinguished international jockey is one which requires a mindshift which McDonald has yet to apply himself to.

He will discuss the opportunities presented to him with confidante and mentor Peter Vela when the fisheries and bloodstock magnate returns from Europe next month. And then he will make a considered decision, typical of one who has already displayed a maturity far beyond his years.

''Everyone says why don't you just go straight to Hong Kong but it's not just about going straight to Hong Kong,'' he says. ''I'm a country boy and imagine me going to live in an apartment in a city with millions of people. It's just not my sort of style.

''I still enjoy the country life at the moment. I'm only 19. It's a big world out there and to go over to Australia, say to Sydney, where some of the offers have been, I'm then by myself and I have to start from scratch.

''I'd like to think I can get there but it's a matter of taking the right opportunities when they come. With Scarlett Lady winning the [Queensland] Oaks there's been a lot of doors that have opened and it's just a matter of picking the right one at the right time.

''I've still got commitments back here and that's a big thing as well, but with the way racing is here, it's not really worth it [to stay].

''I'm up to the task and I'll definitely give it a go sooner rather than later but it's just a matter of timing. The sport here will be right behind me. I can't believe the support I've had here, how much people in New Zealand have really got behind me.''

McDonald has endeared himself to the New Zealand racing public more than anyone else in racing since former champion jockey Lance O'Sullivan.

O'Sullivan was an inaugural inductee in the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame with riding wins in races like the Japan Cup and Cox Plate, but it's no coincidence that most of his greatest achievements came at home.

He still holds many New Zealand racing records, while jockeys judged his equal at a similar age pursued international careers.

Shane Dye, Jim Cassidy, Grant Cooksley, Greg Childs, Brian York and Larry Cassidy rate highly among New Zealand jockeys but because they chiefly plied their trade abroad. They don't have the domestic record or profile that O'Sullivan has.

O'Sullivan was a home-bod and drawn to the land. McDonald is the same.

Though still officially an apprentice jockey, McDonald has an annual income into the hundreds of thousands and he plans investing his earnings in a dairy farm.

''Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later because I'd love to get started. I'd love to be like Lance O'Sullivan, cruising around the farm and planting trees or whatever. It would be great to have my own farm,'' he says.

McDonald owns a herd of about 50 angus beef cattle with his younger brother Luke and the pair breed and raise their stock each year, selling the bull calves and keeping the heifers.

On non-racedays he spends time on uncle Alan Powell's dairy farm and says that's how he relaxes and gets separation from racing.

On a jockey-scale, he probably has more natural talent than O'Sullivan and just as much ambition and drive.

This season he is set to win his second premiership, despite it being just his fourth season of riding.

He has broken Michael Walker's record for most wins in a season for an apprentice and Lisa Cropp's record of most wins in a season for any jockey when he booted home his 198th win at Pukekohe two weeks ago.

At Ruakaka on Wednesday, he edged closer his crowning glory when he secured his 199th win for the season. He is set to become the first jockey to ride 200 winners in a season in New Zealand when he rides at Te Teko next Wednesday.

Remarkably humble and unassuming for a teenager who has achieved so much and received so much publicity as a result, McDonald deflects praise when tackled on his achievements.

''You've got to have the right people around you. You've got to have the right manager. Garry Cossey has done a brilliant job of getting me on the best horses in the right fields.

''It's been awesome. It's been a great journey. We started off very slow and we didn't think we were going to get there. Our main goal was to win the premiership. Lisa Allpress put up a great battle to start off with but then the season really kicked into gear and we started averaging three winners a meeting. Before we even knew it we were at the 200.''

But there was another, more private, reason for the slow start to the season, a personal trauma which rocked McDonald and blurred his focus on winning.

The separation of his parents, Brett and Di, last year and the division of the close-knit unit hit the young jockey hard.

Even a year later, there's still emotion in McDonald's voice when he speaks of his parents' separation.

''It was a tough time and the riding was affected - that's why we started off so slowly.

''I remember one day I was riding up at Ruakaka and I must have stuffed one up big time for Donna Logan and she said 'what's going on? It's just not like you'.

''The trainers could see it, especially when Donna came out and said that, so it was really coming out in my riding. It was a hard time and especially hard on my brother and I.

''I was still trying to do my best and springtime was coming up and the Guineas and those other big races and it was a hard time to be focusing on my riding.

''But everyone has moved on from that. I've been lucky with the likes of my uncle, Alan, who gets me away from racing and we just go out and spend time on his farm.''

McDonald still lives with his mum on Kaipaki Rd, where his father has his racing stables and private racetrack.

Brett McDonald was a capable flat jockey and competed internationally as a jumps jockey while training in partnership with Alan Jones.

McDonald has remained close to both his parents and said he was grateful for his father's input and advice on his riding.

''Dad still watches all my tapes and he lets me know when I've stuffed one up or if I should have done something different. You've always got to have that to make sure you keep your eye in and to get you going a bit.''

But McDonald doesn't lack for personal motivation.

He sets himself three challenging goals each season and smaller ones along the way. He is constantly reassessing them and says he hates to lose.

Raise the bar and McDonald will find a way of clearing it.

''I couldn't see myself not getting success. I love winning and I'm a very competitive person. I love that kind of stuff.

''Anyone in the family would tell you, we're just really competitive, even when it comes to playing table tennis with my brother. Nobody wants to lose and it just gets pretty competitive.''

McDonald says he is a ''pretty relaxed, outgoing person'' away from the races but on raceday he becomes a different person, one in headlong pursuit of victory and possessing the ''mongrel'' needed to ensure he achieves it.

''When I started off, I just rocked out there for fun and just enjoyed it. Now with travelling overseas and getting amongst the best of the best, it's getting very competitive and you strive to be the best ... and the fun obviously goes out the window a little bit.

''It is about horsepower underneath you. No matter how good you are you can't help a slow horse win. It's when you're on a fast horse, that's when you show your true colours - how you handle the pressure.''

McDonald credits a trip to Europe last year, organised by Peter Vela, as a turning point in his career.

He rode in Ireland for six weeks and kicked home a couple of winners.

''Europe was really the making of me. I learned how to look after myself and learned what I had to do to win because I had to start from scratch over there and I had to chase the winners. It wasn't just handed to me on a plate.

''I'd love to be heading overseas in the next couple of years and trying my trade over there. I'd could see myself definitely riding Europe and Royal Ascot and maybe Hong Kong or Australia.

''I'm in no rush to go anywhere soon. I'll look at Australia, probably in the near future, and probably just tick along here for now and see how I go.''

McDonald's recent success in Australia, guiding Hamilton filly Scarlett Lady to wins in the A$175,000 Doomben Roses and A$400,000 Queensland Oaks, has thrust his name to the fore and sparked the offers from prominent stables there.

He is again riding there tomorrow, again picking up a big race ride for a top Australian stable, this time Pontiana for John, Michael and Wayne Hawkes.

''Right at the moment that drive to win is that high, especially with going over to Australia at the moment.''

McDonald still has to sauna and fast to take light rides and a move to Australia should help consolidate his weight as the time he spends travelling is likely to be less and the warmer temperatures should make retaining a light weight easier.

But he says any trials and tribulations of his job have easily been overcome with a mountain of support.

''My parents have been a big part of that. You can't do it without that family support. Everyone is so behind me. My uncle watches every race and my Nana keeps a scrapbook.

''There's so many people behind me trying to get me over that next hurdle. They all want you to do the best you can and hope there's no hiccup along the way. That's probably the biggest pressure there is.

''You don't want to let anyone down - the likes of Peter [Vela] and the family - that would be the worst thing I could do.

''Hopefully a few of the people who have really backed me are really proud of what I've done over the last few years.

''I want to look back and think that other people have been part of it, that others can be just as proud of what they've done to help me achieve. It's not a one-man band. There's a lot of people behind this and I hope they're proud of what they've done as well.''

And the future?

''You never stop striving for success. I'd love to be able to travel to all the best carnivals around the world. That would be the ultimate goal.''

Just as long as he can get back to the farm.

- Waikato Times

Sourced from: http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/racing/5188351/Riding-high