DONALD GOES WHERE NO APPRENTICE HAS BEEN BEFORE

By Graham Potter | Sunday, March 10, 2024

It is an old enough saying ...’have saddle, will travel’ ... but a lot of the times that just means the saddle gets worn and the jockey gets weary with the jockey’s reward ... win, lose or draw ... being that they get to do it all over again the next time.

Nothing wrong there. Riders have to make a living and racing owes these ‘nomads’ a big debt of gratitude as without their commitment to the provincial and country racing cause, that aspect of the industry would be in more than a little spot of bother.

A win in the saddle is always welcome. Anything beyond that is a bonus. Two or three wins at a meeting is a very good day, but three wins at three different venues on the same day ... well, that is just plain historic.

So, take a bow Alisha Donald.

How’s this for a winning sequence timeframe?

Saturday, March 9:

Travel 89km from her home at Toowoomba to Ipswich.

Win 1 - 11.49am - Ipswich (aboard the Pat Webster trained Hayai Uma).
Donald had two rides at Ipswich.

Travel 64km from Ipswich to Esk.

Win 2 - 3.10pm - Esk (aboard the Shaun Dwyer trained Gypsy Power).
Donald had two rides at Esk.

Travel 81km from Esk to Toowoomba.
That makes it a 234km round trip in total.

Win 3 – 6.36pm – Toowoomba (aboard the Pat Webster trained That’s an Extra).
Donald had five rides at Toowoomba.
Finish riding at Toowoomba at 8.55pm.

And no, there was no ‘chauffeur’. Donald did all of the driving herself.

Adding another tick to the three venue wins in one day achievement, Donald is the first apprentice to claim this ‘same day three winners at three venues’ distinction in Queensland, and the first since Brad Stewart put a similar treble result on the board back in 2014.

But wait, there’s more!

How’s this for a work ethic!

Donald, understandably, did not ride the Sunshine Coast meeting on Sunday ... so what did she do instead?

She was on strapping duties for the Corey and Kylie Geran trained Skater, who only just got beaten by All’s Fair in a very hard fought, stride-for-stride battle by to the line.

Donald deserves the headlines today ... and very well deserved they are ... but, as mentioned earlier, credit must also be given to all of those jockeys who follow a similar path week in and week out so that the show can go on.

I’m sure they don’t always feel like it, but they are an integral and valued part of the core fabric of racing.

More articles