‘The pain is just horrific’: Champion jockey hospitalised with mystery illness
Australia’s champion jockey James McDonald will miss the final group 1 race of the season at Eagle Farm on Saturday after spending Wednesday night in hospital with a mystery stomach problem.
The 32-year-old had started Wednesday feeling like he had “a stitch” at Warwick Farm. His condition worsened during the afternoon and he was stood down after four rides.
McDonald drove himself to Prince of Wales Hospital at Randwick, where doctors ruled out appendicitis. He left hospital on Thursday morning.
“The pain is just horrific,” McDonald said. “They are still doing tests but I just can’t ride on Saturday.”
McDonald was due to ride C’est Magique, which is the $6.50 second pick for the group 1 Tattersall’s Tiara, and was booked for three other favourites at Eagle Farm.
McDonald had booked a holiday after the final group 1 meeting for the season in Australia and was scheduled to have a couple of weeks off. He has had the best season of his career, riding 113 winners at a remarkable strike rate of 24 per cent.
Nineteen of those wins were at group 1 level – 14 in Australia and five in Hong Kong and Japan – in what has been one of the greatest seasons from by a jockey in Australia.
McDonald has linked with Hong Kong champion Romantic Warrior for five group 1 victories, including the Cox Plate, the Hong Kong Gold Cup and Yasuda Kinen in Tokyo.
“He is the best horse I have ridden. It is remarkable that he has won one of Australia’s best races, one of Japan’s best races,as well as being unbeaten at home in Hong Kong,” McDonald said. “He has been one of the highlights of an incredible year.”
Meanwhile, the two-time Everest-winning father-son training partnership of Peter and Paul Snowden will be dissolved at the end of next month.
Peter Snowden announced that the Randwick and Flemington stables would continue with him as the sole trainer on Thursday.
Peter Snowden with granddaughter Demi, Paul and jockey Kerrin McEvoy after winning the inaugural Everest with Redzel.
“I would like to inform our loyal clients, suppliers and the whole racing fraternity that the training partnership of Peter and Paul Snowden will dissolve at the conclusion of the 2023/2024 racing season,” the statement read.
“Paul has a young family to care for and we have mutually decided that it is the right time for him to take a step back and be able to focus on them.
“Since the establishment of Snowden Racing in 2014, we have had some incredible success together and Paul’s contribution to the business will be hugely missed.
“As for Snowden Racing, it will be business as usual at our Royal Randwick and Flemington stables as we continue to strive for success and provide results for our owners.”
The Snowdens have trained more than 1200 winners together, winning 20 group 1 races, including a Golden Slipper with Capitalist in 2016. They prepared Redzel to win the first two Everests.