James McDonald lifts Aitch Two Oh to Group 3 success
Aitch Two Oh winning the Red Roses Stakes has given James McDonald his seventh winner of the Melbourne Cup Carnival and a treble on Oaks Day at Flemington.
Aitch Two Oh has given trainers Richard & Chantelle Jolly their first winner of the 2022 Melbourne Cup Carnival and their horse her first Group victory of her career.
After jumping as a $23 outsider with online bookmakers, Aitch Two Oh held on after sitting outside the leaders to take out the Group 3 Red Roses Stakes, just defeating the fast finishing La Danseuse Rouge and Bay Thirteen.
After the initial rider for Aitch Two Oh, Jake Toerok, couldn’t get a flight over to Melbourne from Adelaide this morning, the Jolly’s were left without a rider.
However, fortunately for them, some guy named James McDonald didn’t have a ride in this last race of the day, so he took it.
“He (Toerok) couldn’t be here, so bad luck for Jake, but he has done a lot of work on this filly so he will be happy.”
Richard Jolly explained the situation around Toerok not getting to Melbourne post-race, and even though he missed the ride, he would still be happy that the horse won.
“I thought well, we can try him (McDonald) to start with and work down from there.
“We put the blinkers on her today, and it’s turned her around.”
James McDonald now has seven winners for the 2022 Melbourne Cup Carnival, leaving him with only four winners to get on Champions Stakes Day, to beat his 10 winners from last years carnival.
“I feel for Jo (Toerok), he was booked for the ride but the plane never come,” McDonald said.
“She was electric, she bounced really well and she was tenacious.
“She wanted to get on with the job and the more horses that got up behind her, she ran a little bit on fear, so the fear was good in the end.”