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Jockey profile

James McDonald

59 rides in the last 5 seasons · 57 individual horses
As at 8 Nov 2026 · KTB archive: 2005–present, updated daily
Last ride 141 days ago 100% of rides on the flat
Last 5 seasons Lifetime (2010→)
from 1 Jan 2022
9–59
Wins / Runs
15.3%
Strike rate
n=59
17 (29%)
Placed
1.77
Fair A/E
n=58 · 1.40 incl. margin
−12.95
£1 level stake
n=59 at SP · −21.9%
£1.86m
Prize money (window)
Strike by season
22.7%
KTB at a glance First rides: 15.8%

Riding patterns

the angles behind the record · vs 15.3% baseline
First ride on the horse · first captured pairing
15.8%+0.5
n=57 · A/E 1.81 · £1 −10.95
Last-time-out winners · previous run was a win
41.7%+26.4
n=12 · A/E 3.61 · £1 +16.50
Fresh horses · 61+ days off
0%−15.3
n=8 · A/E 0.00 · £1 −8.00
When favourite
42.9%
n=7 · A/E 1.70 · £1 +1.30
Big fields · 14+ runners
12%−3.3
n=50 · A/E 1.56 · £1 −16.75
Group / Graded races · pattern & listed
13.5%−1.8
n=37 · A/E 1.44 · £1 −11.95

Each tile is the record in that situation vs the 15.3% baseline — descriptive splits with the sample always shown, for you to weigh. Tiles under 30 runs render muted. First rides are the first captured pairing of horse and rider; last-time-out winners are horses whose previous captured run was a win; claiming rides are runs where the rider carried a weight claim. Group / Graded covers pattern and listed races.

Notable angles

vs their own baseline
At Ascot 13% vs 15.3% · n=54
On first rides for the horse 15.8% vs 15.3% · n=57 · A/E 1.81
In Flat races 15.3% vs 15.3% · n=59 · A/E 1.77
This filter uses derived form angles computed for 8.1% of the archive so far (as at 8 Nov 2026); the sample will grow as sequencing completes.
Descriptive splits ranked by divergence × sample — insight, not instruction. Every angle carries its N; nothing under 30 runs qualifies. Rows within 2pts of the baseline appear only when the market-relative read (Fair A/E) diverges, and show it.

Record by conditions

same window as header

Going

GoingRWSR£1
Good to Firm 46 7 15.2% −6.75
Good 8 0 0% −8.00
Heavy 3 1 33.3% −1.20
Good to Soft 2 1 50% +3.00

Courses

CourseRWSR£1
Ascot 54 7 13% −14.75
Eagle Farm (AUS) 5 2 40% +1.80

Class

ClassRWSR£1
Class 1 37 5 13.5% −11.95
Class 2 22 4 18.2% −1.00

Market position

In the bettingRWSRA/E£1
Favourite 7 3 42.9% 1.70 +1.30
2nd–3rd fav 16 4 25% 2.09 +7.25
4th–6th fav 11 2 18.2% 2.42 +3.50
7th+ in betting 25 0 0% 0.00 −25.00
Fair A/E per band is the tell: near 1.00 the market had it priced right; well above, the wins came where the market didn't expect them.

Rows below n=30 are shown faded — a small sample is a fact, not a trend. Every figure carries its N.

Horses ridden

same window as header · most-raced first
HorseRWPlLast ran
Defence Minister (GB) 2 0 0 18 Jun 26
Fangirl (AUS) 2 0 2 13 Jun 26
Joliestar (AUS) 1 0 1 20 Jun 26
Leovanni (IRE) 1 0 0 20 Jun 26
Green Sense (IRE) 1 0 0 20 Jun 26
Lost Boys (IRE) 1 1 1 20 Jun 26
Fanshell Beach (USA) 1 0 0 20 Jun 26
Opportunity (GB) 1 1 1 19 Jun 26
Fitzella (GB) 1 0 0 19 Jun 26
Hidden Gift (IRE) 1 0 0 19 Jun 26
Dial Me In (IRE) 1 0 0 18 Jun 26
New Connection (IRE) 1 0 0 18 Jun 26
All 57 horses ridden in this window. Runs, wins and places only: a strike rate or a return on a handful of runs is noise, so none is quoted per horse — each horse's full record is on its own page.

By month

strike by month, 5 seasons
JFMAMJJASOND
····5014······
A flat rider: the season runs Mar–Oct. Muted months are small samples (under 30 runs) — read them with the caution they deserve.

Riding for

same window · biggest samples first
TrainerRWSR£1
Chris Waller 8 3 37.5% +2.05
Joseph Patrick O'Brien 7 0 0% −7.00
Charles Hills 5 1 20% +2.50
George Boughey 3 1 33.3% +0.50
Archie Watson 3 0 0% −3.00
Hugo Palmer 3 0 0% −3.00
Hamad Al Jehani 3 0 0% −3.00
Ralph Beckett 2 0 0% −2.00
K R Burke 2 0 0% −2.00
Charlie Fellowes 2 0 0% −2.00
F-H Graffard 2 1 50% +5.50
Saeed bin Suroor 2 0 0% −2.00
Muted rows are under 30 rides.

Career highlights

lifetime archive, 2010→
44
Archived wins
8
Pattern / graded wins
£3.14m
Prize money
2016
Best season · 19 wins
Providence (AUS) — Sky Racing Queensland Derby (Turf) Eagle Farm (AUS) · May 2026 · Group 1
£297,030
Tron Bolt (AUS) — Trackside NZ J.J. Atkins (Turf) Eagle Farm (AUS) · Jun 2026 · Group 1
£297,030
Nature Strip (AUS) — King's Stand Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series) Ascot · Jun 2022 · Group 1
£283,550
Notable horses
Ode To Evening (GB) A Momentofmadness (GB) Basseterre (IRE) D'bai (IRE) Barbs Princess (GB) Antiquarium (IRE)

Sires of the horses ridden

progeny record · win % by ground and trip
Mehmas (IRE) 0% · 0–4
Progeny have won 11.5% of 8,229 runs since 2020 (753 horses).
Too Darn Hot (GB) 0% · 0–4
Progeny have won 13.9% of 2,369 runs since 2023 (326 horses). Weakest at trips under 6f (all codes): 9.4% from 117.
Dark Angel (IRE) 50% · 1–2
Progeny have won 11.3% of 21,953 runs since 2011 (1,596 horses). Strongest on Firm going: 15% from 107.
Frankel (GB) 50% · 1–2
Progeny have won 18% of 7,543 runs since 2016 (882 horses). Weakest on Heavy going: 12.8% from 329. Weakest over 2m1f – 2m4f (all codes): 12.2% from 270.
Lope De Vega (IRE) 0% · 0–2
Progeny have won 13.8% of 12,230 runs since 2014 (1,109 horses). Weakest over 1m5f – 2m (all codes): 9.4% from 960.
New Bay (GB) 0% · 0–2
Progeny have won 14.3% of 4,005 runs since 2020 (426 horses). Weakest at trips under 6f (all codes): 10.8% from 102.
Top line: the rider's own record with each sire's runners (win %, wins–runs), same window as the header; faded under 30 runs. Beneath it: every run by that sire's progeny in our archive since 2008, as at 8 Nov 2026 — what they have done, not a forecast. A going or a distance is named only where at least 100 progeny runs sit 3 or more points from the sire's own win rate. Distance bands cover Flat and jumps together.

The record

latest 50 of 315 · newest first

The latest 50 of 315 archived rides, newest first. The full record runs from 27 May 2010 to 20 June 2026.

DateCourseHorseRaceFinishSP
20 Jun 26 Ascot Lost Boys (IRE)T: David Menuisier Golden Gates Stakes (Handicap)Class 2 · 10f · Good To Firm · 16 ran 1st 2/1F
20 Jun 26 Ascot Leovanni (IRE)T: K R Burke Wokingham Stakes (Heritage Handicap)Class 2 · 6f · Good To Firm · 27 ran 26th 40/1
20 Jun 26 Ascot Green Sense (IRE)T: Joseph Patrick O'Brien Jersey Stakes (Group 3)Class 1 · 7f · Good To Firm · 16 ran 4th 80/1
20 Jun 26 Ascot Joliestar (AUS)T: Chris Waller Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes (Group 1)Class 1 · 6f · Good To Firm · 18 ran 3rd 15/8F
20 Jun 26 Ascot Fanshell Beach (USA)T: Wesley A Ward Norfolk Stakes (Group 2)Class 1 · 5f · Good To Firm · 21 ran 5th 13/2
19 Jun 26 Ascot Opportunity (GB)T: William Haggas Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes (Handicap) (GBBPlus Race)Class 2 · 12f · Good To Firm · 17 ran 1st 6/1
19 Jun 26 Ascot Fitzella (GB)T: Hugo Palmer Commonwealth Cup (Group 1)Class 1 · 6f · Good To Firm · 22 ran 5th 50/1
19 Jun 26 Ascot Hidden Gift (IRE)T: Richard & Peter Fahey Albany Stakes (Fillies' Group 3)Class 1 · 6f · Good To Firm · 25 ran 5th 25/1
18 Jun 26 Ascot Defence Minister (GB)T: Hamad Al Jehani Buckingham Palace Stakes (Handicap)Class 2 · 7f · Good To Firm · 28 ran 20th 28/1
18 Jun 26 Ascot New Connection (IRE)T: F-H Graffard Britannia Stakes (Heritage Handicap) (Str)Class 2 · 8f · Good To Firm · 30 ran 29th 66/1
18 Jun 26 Ascot Dial Me In (IRE)T: Joseph Patrick O'Brien King George V Stakes (Heritage Handicap) (GBBPlus Race)Class 2 · 12f · Good To Firm · 19 ran 13th 28/1
18 Jun 26 Ascot Romanza (GB)T: Charlie Fellowes Chesham Stakes (Listed)Class 1 · 7f · Good To Firm · 14 ran 7th 22/1
17 Jun 26 Ascot Alta Regina (IRE)T: Hamad Al Jehani Queen Mary Stakes (Fillies' Group 2)Class 1 · 5f · Good To Firm · 27 ran 6th 9/2
16 Jun 26 Ascot Sing Us A Song (IRE)T: Ralph Beckett Copper Horse Stakes (Handicap) (GBBPlus Race)Class 2 · 14f · Good To Firm · 16 ran 5th 6/1
16 Jun 26 Ascot Map Of Stars (GB)T: F-H Graffard Wolferton Stakes (Listed)Class 1 · 10f · Good To Firm · 16 ran 1st 13/2
16 Jun 26 Ascot Cover Up (IRE)T: Simon & Ed Crisford King Charles III Stakes (Group 1)Class 1 · 5f · Good To Firm · 26 ran 13th 25/1
16 Jun 26 Ascot Ruler's Pride (IRE)T: K R Burke Coventry Stakes (Group 2)Class 1 · 6f · Good To Firm · 21 ran 17th 13/2
13 Jun 26 Eagle Farm (AUS) Fangirl (AUS)T: Chris Waller Ladbrokes Stradbroke Handicap (Handicap) (Turf)7f · Heavy · 18 ran 4th 10/1
13 Jun 26 Eagle Farm (AUS) Tron Bolt (AUS)T: Chris Waller Trackside NZ J.J. Atkins (Turf)8f · Heavy · 12 ran 1st 4/5F
13 Jun 26 Eagle Farm (AUS) Firestorm (NZ)T: Chris Waller Magic Millions Dane Ripper Stakes (Fillies & Mares) (Turf)6.5f · Heavy · 15 ran 13th 10/1

Drawn from the whole archive (2005 onwards), so it can include runs outside the window the header statistics cover. Non-runners are not listed. A finish shown in letters is a non-completion (F fell · UR unseated · PU pulled up · BD brought down).

Quick answers

What is James McDonald's strike rate?
James McDonald has won 9 of 59 rides since 2022, a strike rate of 15.3% (as at 8 November 2026). Figures are computed from our own results archive.
Which course does James McDonald do best at?
Ascot by strike rate: 7 wins from 54 rides (13%) since 2022. Read from the 15 courses with the most rides on the same basis, and only those with at least 30 — a small sample cannot top the list, and a rarely-visited course is not in the comparison.
What is James McDonald's Fair A/E?
1.77, from 58 rides with a computed fair probability since 2022. Fair A/E compares actual wins with a margin-stripped market expectation, so 1.00 is par: above it the wins came at bigger prices than the margin-free market implied, below it they did not.
Fair A/E compares wins with a margin-stripped market expectation. Favourite-heavy samples — top yards, leading riders — naturally read a few points warm, so 1.05 means "beat the margin-free market read", not "the market underrates this by 5%". Three sample sizes are reported and never blended: runs (n), the ROI basis (n at SP), and the fair-A/E basis (n with a computed fair probability).

Strike rate is wins over all runs (n). ROI is £1 level stakes at SP over runs with a parseable price (n at SP). Fair A/E is wins over margin-stripped market expectation, over runs with a computed fair probability (n fair). The three Ns can legitimately differ and are always shown. Figures as at 8 November 2026, computed from our own results archive (2005 onwards; aggregates from 2008).