JAMES MCDONALD ON TOP OF THE WORLD

By Darren Winningham | Saturday, December 13, 2025

Jockey James McDonald has been crowned the 2025 LONGINES World’s Best Jockey, receiving the prestigious honour at the LONGINES Hong Kong Jockey Club Gala Dinner on Friday evening.

This latest win marks the third time McDonald has claimed the coveted title, further solidifying his status among the sport’s global elite.

The champion rider first secured the award in 2022 and successfully defended his 2024 crown, joining Frankie Dettori as the only jockey to record back-to-back victories in the award’s history. Dettori previously achieved the feat in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

McDonald’s 2025 campaign was nothing short of exceptional.

He won twelve of the world’s top 100 Group 1 races, while also recording four second placings and four thirds. His consistency and class saw him easily defeat Mickael Barzalona, who finished with seven Group 1 victories, six seconds and three thirds.

At season’s end, McDonald tallied 184 points, winning comprehensively from Barzalona on 132 in one of the most dominant efforts since the award’s inception.

Prior to McDonald’s success, Hugh Bowman was the only Australian jockey to have received the accolade, doing so in 2017.

Established in 2014, the LONGINES World’s Best Jockey Award honours the top-performing rider across the world’s highest-rated Group or Grade 1 races, as determined by the LONGINES World’s Best Racehorse Rankings Committee.

McDonald’s 2025 title further underscores his global dominance and enduring brilliance in the saddle — a fitting tribute to one of Australia’s most accomplished and admired sportsmen.

At the post presentation media interview, McDonald was quite humble when reflecting on the horses he ridden throughout the year that allowed him to win the award.

“I mean they are incredible racehorses, a Hong Kong based Triple Crown winner - Voyage Bubble, a Hong Kong champion - Romantic Warrior and an Australian champion as well - Via Sistina.

"To get them all in one year doesn’t happen often at all and to be partnering with them is just an incredible feeling and I feel very humbled to be riding them.”

But there will be little time for celebration.

Come Sunday, the newly crowned LONGINES World’s Best Jockey will shoulder the weight of expectation from Hong Kong’s proud racing public as he partners Romantic Warrior in the HK$40 million LONGINES Hong Kong Cup.

The local hero is poised to make history by becoming the first horse ever to win the prestigious race four years in a row, and McDonald’s partnership with the Hong Kong superstar could deliver yet another defining moment in an already impressive career.

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