Who’s the world’s best jockey? Every racing fan will have their own opinion.

And it’s one thing, for parochial Australian and New Zealand fans and even former champion jockey Glen Boss to hail Hong Kong-bound James McDonald as the best in the world right now.

It’s quite another, however, that the claim has official ratification pending with McDonald next month to be named LONGINES World’s Best Jockey as he has an unassailable lead on the rankings released by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.

In the meantime, his focus will be heavily on Hong Kong as he bids to continue his spectacular form – of the past two years – which prompted four time W.S. Cox Plate and three-time Melbourne Cup winner Boss to recently declare: “He (McDonald) is the best jockey in the world. I’ve been saying that for 18 months, two years.”

Last year, it was another former champion jockey Malcolm Johnston singing his praises. “The biggest asset any racehorse can have is James McDonald,’’ said Johnston who predicted the New Zealand-born 30 year-old would “break all riding records”.

McDonald has already amassed 60 Group 1 wins in Australia, plus 13 internationally-recognised Group 1 races (11 in New Zealand and one each in Hong Kong and England). That is more than Australia’s most successful Group 1 jockey Damien Oliver had at the same age (Oliver’s current tally is 127, including four in New Zealand).

McDonald’s numbers are astronomical in every sense. In the current Australian racing season, which runs from August to July, he has already slotted Group 1 wins in less than four months. He’s leading the Australian Jockeys’ Premiership; won eight races during the Melbourne Cup carnival and is already odds-on to claim his seventh Sydney Metropolitan Jockeys’ Premiership.

Last season (from August 2021), he rode ten Group 1 winners in Australia, including the Melbourne Cup, plus the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot, as well as The Everest which does not have Pattern race status but does have a handy HK$78 million in prize money.

In season 2021/22 he rode 147 winners (at 23%), including a record ten in Melbourne Cup week, and his mounts earned prize money of approximately HK$182 million which was just shy of HK$185.3 million earned by Zac Purton’s rides in Hong Kong.

He finished tied for second behind Purton in the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship at Happy Valley and, following this week’s announcement of the IJC invitees, we know the Mac and Zac show will be on again on Wednesday, 7 December.

However, the competition begins earlier than that with McDonald arriving this weekend to partner Danny Shum-trained star Romantic Warrior in the G2 BOCHK Jockey Club Cup (2000m) and David Hayes’ sprinter Super Wealthy in the G2 BOCHK Private Banking Jockey Club Sprint (1200m).

“It’s such an exciting time of year for Hong Kong racing. I’m on the plane on Thursday and I can’t wait to be part of it, especially with the chance to ride a horse like Romantic Warrior. Hopefully he runs well and we’ll be on song for the LONGINES Hong Kong Cup three weeks later,” said McDonald, whose partner Katelyn Mallyon gave birth to their first child Evie Belle on 7 November.

The man, who rode his first Group 1 winner at just sixteen years of age and is the youngest inductee into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame, would also love to add the LONGINES International Jockeys’ Championship to his resume as he competes for the seventh time.

He finished second on debut to Frankie Dettori in 2011, third in 2014 and tied for second last year. He also won the 2012 Champions Mile on Xtension for John Moore who described the ride “as the best you’ve ever seen.”

McDonald was unable to stay for last year’s LONGINES Hong Kong International races because of a previous commitment in Australia and the difficulties of quarantine protocols then in place but is looking forward to being part of the action this year.