Champion jockey James MacDonald faces his toughest challenge yet in his bid to win a sixth consecutive premiership for the Sydney Jockeys.
At the halfway point of the 2023-24 season, MacDonald has 36 winners and sits fourth in the title race, 12 winners behind leader Nash Rawiller.
This is foreign territory for MacDonald who usually opens up a huge lead in the premiership at this stage of the season.
MacDonald has dominated Sydney's races in recent years, winning five straight league titles by comfortable margins.
If he can retain his title this season, he will become only the third Knight to win the A-League title six times in a row after Hall of Famers George Moore and Ron Quinton.
But MacDonald has not ridden as often as usual in Sydney this season, instead chasing success in feature racing both interstate and overseas including an extended stay in Hong Kong late last year.
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However, the star racer maintains that the Sydney premiership is one of his primary goals for 2023-2024.
“The premiership is my goal every season,” MacDonald said.
“Every time I go out riding in Sydney, I try my best to ride winners. If you consistently ride winners, it gives you a chance of winning a premiership.
“The competition in the Sydney race is fierce and that is what makes the premiership so prestigious.”
MacDonald's prolonged absence this season is reflected by his number of rides in Sydney totaling 166 – the fewest of any jockey in the top eight of the premiership rankings.
But MacDonald can begin his defense of the premiership over a busy 24 hours with six rounds at Canterbury on Friday night involving favorites Amuro (Race 3) and Sofia Magic (Race 5), plus a further seven rounds at Saturday's Rosehill meeting with four of those in Top of the Betting: Lady Laguna (Race 4), Morning Sun ($3.30), Robusto (Race 7), Our Kobison (Race 9).
Rawler, a former three-time Sydney champion, has not won the title in more than a decade, but he has rarely ridden better and boasts an impressive stroke rate this season.
With 48 victories, Rawler is four ahead of nearest rival Jason Collett, and when asked if the premiership was the priority, his response was emphatic: “Bloody oath.”
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“It's not something I'm thinking about a lot right now, but it's definitely a goal of mine this season,” Rawler said.
“I may watch the carnivals later in the season, but I will definitely give my all to win the Premier League title.
“I receive good support from a number of leading coaches and this helps me.”
Rawler will be hoping to increase his lead in the premiership this weekend with outings including the Autumn favorite at Canterbury (Race 1) and a six-rounder at Rosehill for Stay Safe Betting (Race 2).
Collett is on track for his best ever season and can add to his 44 wins in the city with four rounds at Canterbury and a further nine at Rosehill.
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But the flamboyant Collett revealed the premiership was not on his mind and joked: “I want James (MacDonald) to go to Royal Ascot and stay out longer.”
He added: “The premiership is not a goal at the moment, it's out of reach. If we get to the last two months of the season and I'm close enough, I'll start looking at it more closely.”
“My focus is on being more consistent, making small adjustments here and there, and constantly trying and improving.”
Tyler Schiller is third with 41 wins, but a suspension that prevents him from riding until February 9 has temporarily halted his momentum.
But Schiller's high rating made him dream of winning the title.
“The premiership is my goal this season and it is definitely on my list,” Schiller said.
“At the start of the season, I wasn't really thinking about it, but I've had a good three months and put myself in a position close to the top. I'm counting the days until I'm back riding.
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Another Sydney racing youngster, Zac Lloyd, was second to MacDonald with 76 wins last season and the apprentice is performing well again in 2023-24 with 32 wins to finish in the top five in the rankings despite having over-claimed his claim.
Lloyd has ambitions to win the Sydney title but admitted it is not an immediate priority.
“In the future, the premiership is a definite goal but maybe not this season,” Lloyd said.
“With James (McDonald) roaming around more often now, it's opened the door a little bit.
“But this season, I just want to ride as many winners as I can, stay out of the stewards’ room, keep improving and keep learning.”
Lloyd has three runs at Canterbury and a further nine at Rosehill with Rhapsody (Race 8) the early favourite.
Tommy Perry missed the first two months of the season but jumped up the premiership standings with 29 victories and moved up to sixth.
But Perry also has a realistic attitude towards any talk of an unexpected title win this season.
“I cannot say that the prime ministership is not a goal,” Perry said.
“At the moment, I'm 19 wins away from the top but I still think it's within reach.
“I want to finish as close to the top as I can but none of the other boys are slowing down – Nash is riding well, Jason is outpacing him at the moment and it's always tough to beat James.”
Perry said Sydney's jockeys' room is “very strong” especially with the youngsters coming through like Lloyd, Schiller and Dylan Gibbons.
“As a senior, you wouldn't have had to worry about these guys a couple of years ago,” Perry said.
“They put more pressure on the top riders to give their best, which raises the bar for everyone.”
Perry's five runs at the Canterbury night meeting include favorite Seton Hall (Race 4) before he returns to Rosehill with six more chances on Saturday.
Even Keiren McEvoy (25 wins) has given himself an outside chance at the premiership after a string of impressive successes during January, and Adam Hieronymus (22 wins) has his share of winners.
TAB has the jockey's premiership market at Sydney open with James MacDonald the favorite at $1.60, Rawler pinned to $2.40 ahead of Collett at $7, Lloyd and Schiller at $26 and Perry rated a $51 chance.
MacDonald remains the knight to beat in the premiership race, but for the first time in years, the result is not a fait accompli.
Originally published as the Sydney Knights' premiership battle heats up as the end of James MacDonald's reign approaches
