Run The Numbers – James McDonald’s path to 128
With James McDonald poised to surpass Damien Oliver’s Australasian record of 129 Group 1 wins as a jockey, Run The Numbers has had a look at all the numbers that add up to this incredible achievement.
When a 16-year-old James McDonald saluted aboard a filly called Special Mission in the New Zealand Bloodstock Breeders’ Stakes in April 2008, he couldn’t have dared dream that just 18 years later he would be on the precipice of an Australasian record.
That was the first of his Group 1 wins, while his latest, his 128th came aboard Lazzura on Saturday’s Coolmore Classic and put him within one of matching Damien Oliver’s Australasian record of 129.
He has five chances to match (and possibly eclipse) that record on Saturday aboard Autumn Glow, Aeliana, Autumn Boy, Generosity and Fireball in what is the biggest day, in terms of volume, of Group 1 racing in Australia.
We covered a breakdown of McDonald’s first century of Group 1 winners less than 18 months ago, but those elite victories are coming at such speed that we have been prompted to go once again, although with a slightly different lens.
Those 128 Group 1 wins have come across 679 rides, giving him a winning percentage of 18.9 per cent in Group 1 races. He has been placed on another 177 occasions, meaning he has finished top three on 44.9 per cent of his Group 1 rides. In comparison, Oliver winning Group 1 strike rate was 11.2 per cent, while he was placed in 33.6 per cent of elite races he contested.
Across those Group 1 races, McDonald’s rides have banked over AU$177 million in prize money.
Of the 128 wins, 53 have been aboard horses trained by Chris Waller, 17 for James Cummings and 12 for Danny Shum.
Shum’s Romantic Warrior is McDonald’s most successful Group 1 horse with the pair combining for 12 elite wins and over $35 million in prize money.
McDonald’s association with champion horses has certainly helped him build his success at record place. He also won nine Group 1 races aboard both Via Sistina and Verry Elleegant and eight aboard both Anamoe and Nature Strip.
Those five horses contribute 46 Group 1 wins between them, or 35.9 per cent of McDonald’s current total.
James McDonald’s most successful Group 1 horses
| Horse | G1 Wins |
| Romantic Warrior | 12 |
| Verry Elleegant | 9 |
| Via Sistina | 9 |
| Anamoe | 8 |
| Nature Strip | 8 |
| Dundeel | 6 |
| Voyage Bubble | 5 |
| Broadsiding | 4 |
So far this season, he has nine overall Group 1 wins, six of them in Australia. He has won 49 of Australia’s 76 Group 1 races but won’t make the 50 this weekend as he has won all five of Saturday’s races before.
The other milestone McDonald could mark this weekend is 100 Group 1 wins in Australia. He is on 98, and if he were to get an elite double, he would join George Moore (105) and Oliver (125) in that century club.
He would also surpass Hugh Bowman, who remains on 99 in Australia, having not ridden an elite winner here since 2022, and retired former Kiwi Jim Cassidy.
A fifth win in the Ranvet aboard Aeliana would see that race become McDonald’s second most successful, behind only the Verry Elleegant Stakes. It would also be his third straight win in the race, something he also did with his win in the Coolmore Classic last week.
His record for consecutive Group 1 wins in the same race is in the Hong Kong Cup, which Romantic Warrior has won each of the past four years.
A total of 83 of McDonald’s Group 1 winners (64.8 per cent) have come in the distance range from 1600 to 2400. He has 33 wins in Group 1 races over 1600m and 32 over 2000m (plus four over 2040m).
Those 36 Group 1 wins in that 2000m-2100m range is quite a remarkable feat when you consider that he only has 156 wins in that category across his career, which means 23.1 per cent of his winners in that range have been at the top level.
His Group 1 victories have come in five different countries, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan and Saudi Arabia, and across 18 different racetracks.
Randwick is his most successful with 37, while Rosehill, where he rides Saturday, has 22. His first Group 1 at Rosehill came on this day 13 years ago aboard Dundeel in the Rosehill Guineas.
James McDonald’s most successful Group 1 tracks
| Track | G1 Wins |
| Randwick | 37 |
| Rosehill | 22 |
| Flemington | 18 |
| Sha Tin | 16 |
| Caulfield | 7 |
Author
Related Articles
Run The Numbers – Yearling market grows despite drops at biggest sales
Australia’s yearling market has grown in almost every key indicator to this point in 2026, despite the two major sales taking a step back. Run The Numbers takes the temperature after the Australian Easter Yearling Sale.
Run The Numbers – International mare influence surges at Australia’s major yearling sales
Australian breeders’ desire for international pedigrees has arguably never been stronger, with a historically high number of progeny of non-Australasian-bred mares represented at the Inglis Australian Easter Yearling Sale. Run The Numbers examines long-term trends.
Run The Numbers – Kings of the road – Australia’s most travelled trainers
In a nation of 354 racetracks, there is no shortage of options for where to take your horse for a race if you are willing to do the miles. But which trainers do more miles than any other? Run The Numbers investigates.