McDonald celebrates one of his best days in the cart
McDonald celebrates one of his best days in the cart
Promising young reinsman Stuart McDonald celebrated one of his best days in the cart at Pinjarra earlier this month.
The 23-year-old former New Zealander booted home the 12/1 shot Tommy Be Good for trainer Kat Warwick in the $30,000 Don Randall Memorial Cup.
McDonald then followed up that success in the very next race when the Gary Hall-trained Herrick Roosevelt upstaged his more fancied stablemate The Pima Indian to win the $25,000 IGA-Silver Sands 4YO Classic.
“Both horses went really well,” McDonald said.
“They both had really good runs in transit and sometimes that’s all you need.
“A little bit of luck in running goes a long way.”
McDonald is a Christchurch native.
He used to help his father out with a small team of pacers, but never drove in trials or races until he came to Western Australia.
“Dad had a few horses while I was still at school and I would give him a hand,” McDonald said.
“I used to also help out some of Dad’s mates who had trotters.
“But I never jumped in the cart … I only became interested in driving them when I left New Zealand as a 16-year-old.”
McDonald was still in high school in Christchurch in 2011 when the city was devastated by the massive earthquake which levelled most buildings.
“Our school was destroyed when the earthquake struck,” he said.
“Luckily it hit about 4pm and there was no one in the school at that time.
“It was a very scary time as you just feel so helpless … there’s nothing you can do except ride it out.
“It was around about this time that I answered a call to take up a full-time position with Greg Schofield in Perth.”
McDonald arrived in Perth on September 24, 2011 as a bright-eyed 16-year-old with a dream of making a living in harness racing.
“Greg was keen at the time to become a professional trainer,” he said.
“I worked for him for about 18 months and got the opportunity to learn about driving horses. I even drove a winner for him during my early days in the cart.
“It was a good grounding but Greg never did branch out to make it full-time.”
McDonald then went to work for leading trainer Ross Olivieri, a position he held for more than three years.
But with limited opportunities he decided to “try his hand” in Sydney.
“I went over to Sydney in January this year and started working for Kevin Pizzuto, the guy who trains Tiger Tara,” McDonald said.
“Things weren’t going that well at Kevin’s place so I started driving for a couple of other stables.
“But when I heard that Voaky (Chris Voak) was taking six weeks off, I decided it might open up a few opportunities so I came back to Perth.
“I returned in May and have been working for Gary Hall since then.”
McDonald knows only too well the ups and downs of the sport, but he has shown his ability in the sulky and trainers are sitting up and taking notice.
“I’m really appreciating getting some good drives from the Hall stable,” he said.
“I know Junior (Gary Hall Jr) is always going to get the best drive in a race, but sometimes the second or third stringers can spring a surprise.
“I got into driving really late. It’s never easy this game, but I’m starting to get some good opportunities, and not just from the Hall stable.”
McDonald has to sit out the next fortnight after receiving a two-week suspension at Tuesday’s Gloucester Park meeting after stewards charged him under the “loose-rein rule”.
“It’s never a good time to cop a ban,” he said.
“Especially with the Inters starting in just over a week.
“But I’ll do my time and hopefully have a drive or two in the Inters and maybe the Golden Nugget.”
And he has given punters a lead for the Inters by declaring Chicago Bull as the best horse he’s ever sat behind.
“Chicago Bull is something special,” he said. “He’s definitely the best horse I’ve been lucky enough to drive, although it’s only been in trackwork.
“I’d say Tiger Tara has been the best horse I’ve driven in a race.
“And he looks like coming over to Perth for the Inters after his brave third behind Lazarus in the New Zealand Cup.”
Wayne Currall