James McDonald proved unstoppable during the 2022 Longines World's Best Jockey competition. He led the standings for most of the year, ultimately claiming the title with nine qualifying wins on five different horses. The New Zealand-born jockey is the second Australian-based rider to win the Longines World's Best Jockey Award, following Hugh Bowman's efforts in 2017.
In 2022, McDonald won nine of the world's Top 100 Group or Grade 1 races, with his qualifying victories coming in the Black Caviar Lightning Stakes (Home Affairs), TAB Chipping Norton Stakes (Verry Elleegant), Sky Racing Active Rosehill Guineas (Anamoe), Furphy T J Smith Stakes (Nature Strip), Schweppes All Aged Stakes (Cascadian), Winx Stakes (Anamoe), Fujitsu General George Main Stakes (Anamoe), Neds Might And Power Stakes (Anamoe), and Ladbrokes Cox Plate (Anamoe).
McDonald, who finished third in the 2021 competition, won this year's award by an impressive margin of 46 points. The scoring process rewards jockeys for finishing in the top three, giving McDonald a total of 142 points on the year. Ryan Moore, who has won the Longines World's Best Jockey title three times, was second with 96 points, while William Buick was third with 78 points.
The awarding of the Longines World's Best Jockey title is based upon performances in the 100 highest-rated Group 1 and Grade 1 races as established for the year by the Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings Committee. The scoring incorporates races from Dec. 1 of the previous year until Nov. 30 of the current year. Jockeys accrue 12 points for a win, 6 points for placing second, and 4 points for placing third.
A ceremony will be held during the gala dinner of the Longines Hong Kong International Races on Dec. 9, 2022, at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre to honour McDonald. The full and final standings for the 2022 Longines World's Best Jockey competition can be found at ifhaonline.org.
The Longines World's Best Jockey Award was established nine years ago by Swiss watch brand Longines and the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA) as a way to quantitatively recognise a jockey as the best among his or her global peers. It marked the first time a rider was honoured in such a way. Moore was the inaugural recipient of the Longines World's Best Jockey Award, which was established in 2014, and he also won in 2016 and 2021. Frankie Dettori has won the award four times, with his victories coming in 2015, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
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