James McDonald feels he is back where he belongs as he savours Yucatan ride

James McDonald is back.

He missed last year's Melbourne Cup – it wasn't through injury; it was his own fault – and given the whole nation stops for the race he had no choice but to watch it. He did so peering over the fence in the back straight. No-one involved even knew he was there.

He describes that moment as "pretty hard" while wearing a facial expression that suggests even then he is putting a brave face on it. As arguably the greatest southern-hemisphere riding talent of his generation he watched on, invisible to the sport he had dominated.

Just a year previously McDonald had cantered to post in front of 100,000 adoring racegoers at Flemington aboard favourite Hartnell, dressed in the royal blue silks of his employers Godolphin. He had the racing world at his feet.

But that was all ripped from under him when he was caught gambling on a race he rode in. McDonald bet A$1,000 (£555/€632) on Astern before riding the horse to victory on his debut at Randwick in December 2015.

He pocketed the most costly $4,000 of his life. It was not until November 2016 that he was pulled in by racing authorities. McDonald admitted to the bet expecting a six-month ban. He got 18.

He went from a 24-year-old with two Sydney Premierships and 32 Group 1s to his name, to being frozen out of the sport he had dedicated his life to since the age of 14 and milking cows on his uncle's farm.

It was some fall from grace.

The first week, when his name dominated the news, was the darkest moment during his time away.

"It was probably straight away, that first week," he says.

James McDonald strikes a Usain Bolt-style pose afte his win on Shillelagh at FlemingtonCredit: Vince Caligiuri (Getty Images)

Not only did he have to phone his family, friends and those who had supported him within the industry to tell them, but he couldn't turn on the television or pick up a newspaper without seeing his name.

"Everything happened within a week – and then it was forgotten," he continues. "No-one remembers Winx today, do they, that was last week and everyone's focused on this [Flemington] now. There is always another story the week after, the worst of it lasted about a week."

If he does not sound overly contrite that is in part because McDonald has described his ban as the best thing that ever happened to him, as it forced him to grow up. But that doesn't mean he found it easy, and he certainly appreciates things more now.

"I'm the same person, I probably just have a better outlook on racing," he says. "I don't worry about it too much. I did 18 months on the sidelines, it doesn't get more rock-bottom than that. It was pretty embarrassing – so now I don't really give a stuff.

"I have more fun now, normally I would be nervous coming here [to Flemington on Derby day], but I was more excited coming here, it's been the most excited I've been. I woke up on Derby morning and had a bit of breakfast, I couldn't wait to drive here."

That excitement is in part due to McDonald being not just back to where he used to be, but somewhere that during those 18 months he had doubts he would ever get back to.

Jockeys banned for betting can find their career hard to rebuild, but since his return in May McDonald has not looked back.

He leads the Sydney Metropolitan Premiership and last month rode his first Group 1 winner since returning when partnering The Autumn Sun to a stunning four-and-a-half-length win in the Caulfield Guineas. It was a moment that drew from him a special celebration.

On Derby day on Saturday he took his post-betting-ban tally of Group 1s to two when pushing out Shillelagh to victory in the Empire Rose.

James McDonald wins the Empire Rose Stakes on Shillelagh at Flemington on SaturdayCredit: Vince Caligiuri (Getty Images)

"You're owed nothing, so at the end of the day I had to work hard to get back to where we are today," he says, before adding: "And yes, it's extra motivation because I didn't want to fail. But I'm back in good order."

Asked if he feels he is truly back, McDonald says: "Yeah, definitely."

That in large part is due to the fact he is back on the favourite for Australia's biggest race, the Aidan O'Brien-trained Yucatan, who hacked up under McDonald in the Group 2 Herbert Power Handicap last month.

He explains: "You walk in knowing you're riding for someone very good and you're on a really good chance. To have the support of Lloyd Williams is very special.

"I know Aidan O'Brien won't be here, I hear he will be in Barbados laying on his back, but it definitely gives you extra motivation as it's not every day you get to ride for the greatest trainer in the world."

Explaining how he managed to keep the ride despite Ryan Moore being Coolmore's number one, he says: "I got the ride through Lloyd Williams. I rode him on his first start and he won, so I guess it's hard to take winning jockeys off."

That winning ride came 35 minutes after partnering The Autumn Sun to that landmark first Group 1 success.

At the time Yucatan was 55th on the order of entry for the Melbourne Cup and nowhere near getting in the race.

"I didn't expect it," says McDonald. "So I rode the horse accordingly. He was 10-1, so I rode him like a 10-1 chance. They knew he was very good, but we didn't think he would do that."

But just how good was it? "He could have won by eight lengths," comes the response.

How confident is he? The ear-to-ear smile that accompanies the words "yeah, very" tells you all you need to know. But if he has worked out a plan for overcoming stall 23 he is not telling. "I'm not too sure, you'll watch and learn," he says with a grin.

Yucatan: heavily eased by James McDonald when winning the Herbert Power at CaulfieldCredit: Racing Photos

McDonald has not sat on Yucatan since and recognises they do not hand out the Melbourne Cup based on how you run in the Herbert Power.

"I haven't been around too many years so you would have to ask the gurus," he says. "But some people say it was one of the most impressive trials – but you've still got to do it again. Yucatan has got to back it up, but hopefully he will."

If last Saturday's Lexus Stakes is anything to go by he has every chance. Brimham Rocks (runner-up) and A Prince Of Arran (third), the two horses McDonald reckons he could have beaten by eight lengths in the Herbert Power, instead of by a heavily eased length and a quarter, were first and second, albeit in reverse order, in the Lexus.

That Yucatan steps up in trip by half a mile on anything he has ever run over before is, for many, the bigger question mark. McDonald is less worried, however.

"I've spoken to TJ [Comerford, O'Brien's travelling head lad] and he's very bullish about his chances of running two miles and he is the one who spends day-in and day-out with him. I've also spoken to Aidan several times. He should have no dramas at all with the distance."

If he finds the extra distance as easy as McDonald has found slotting back into the saddle he will be a hard horse to beat, and McDonald's comeback will very much be complete.

'You probably couldn't have a better jockey'

The owners' view of James McDonald

You clearly have to be very good to keep Ryan Moore off a horse, but just how highly do the Williams family rate James McDonald? Nick Williams, son of Lloyd and part-owner, says: "You couldn't have a jockey in better form than James, and you probably couldn't have a better jockey full stop. I think he's one of the best in the world, he rode the horse at Caulfield and he'll ride him very well."

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