The votes are in and top 10 jockeys named for the 2020-21 season with little surprise who came out No.1

Superstar hoop James McDonald has been voted by News Corp Australia’s national racing team as the No. 1 jockey in the nation – but Jamie Kah has finished not far behind in second position.

As season 2020-21 draws to a close, the 12-member racing team cast their votes for the top 10 jockeys and McDonald – whose rides amassed more than $20m in prizemoney this season – came out on top with 111 votes out of a possible 120.

Nine of the 12 experts ranked McDonald at No.1.

Kah, who captured the nation’s hearts becoming the first jockey to ride 100 metropolitan winners in a season in Melbourne, scored 90 votes to finish second, narrowly ahead of Hugh Bowman who polled 87 votes in third.

McDonald, Kah and Bowman were the only three jockeys to make all of the experts’ top 10.

90-time Group 1 winner Glen Boss missed out on the top 10 coming in at No. 11 while others to pick up significant votes but also outside the top 10 included Jye McNeil, Mark Zahra, Rachel King, Ben Melham, Chris Parnham, Jason Collett and Tim Clark.

Here is the top 10 according to the national racing team, but you may see it differently so get involved, hit the poll and cast your votes.

10. NASH RAWILLER – 24 votes

Since returning to Australia at the beginning of the 2019/20 season, Nash Rawiller was quick to give punters a reminder of why he is one of the best in the business. A three-time winner of the Sydney jockeys‘ title, he tested James McDonald when finishing runner up in the premiership with 90 city winners his first season back and is poised to finish top-five in 2020/21. Known for his brute strength when lifting his mount home, Rawiller has ridden 65 Group 1 in his career and has added four of those to his tally over the past 12 months thanks in part to wins on Eduardo in The Galaxy and Doomben 10,000.
MAJOR WINS: Group 1 (4) – Doomben 10,000 (Eduardo), The Metropolitan (Mirage Dancer), Surround Stakes (Forbidden Love), The Galaxy (Eduardo)

Nash Rawiller returns to scale after winning the Doomben 10,000 on Eduardo. Picture: Grant Peters – Trackside PhotographySource:Supplied

9. DAMIAN LANE – 36 votes

Flown under the radar this season, due to the dominance of Jamie Kah, but the 27-year-old has yet again proven a model of consistency. Mounted a premiership run in December-January but commitments interstate thwarted any serious challenge. Lane added three Group 1s this season, taking his career tally to 23, on top of another 11 stakes wins, including six at Group 2 level. The West Australian native, who dominated the 2019 spring winning the Caulfield Cup and Cox Plate, has maintained a healthy 14.7 per cent winning strike rate in Melbourne this season.
MAJOR WINS: Group 1 (3) – Futurity Stakes (Probabeel), Cantala (Yulong Prince), Moir Stakes (Pippie)

Damian Lane gets to work on Pippie in the Group 1 Moir Stakes. Picture: Pat Scala – Racing Photos via Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

8. DAMIEN OLIVER – 38 votes

Like all other Melbourne jockeys, Damien Oliver was cast into the shadow of the Jamie Kah show but the champion rider still finished a respectable third in the jockeys’ premiership with 49 wins, his overall tally of 83 wins for the season his lowest since the 2016/17 season. However, Oliver showed he was still more than capable of getting the job done in big races with another three Group 1 wins – the VRC Oaks on Personal, the Underwood Stakes on Russian Camelot and a surprise win in the Empire Rose Stakes on Shout The Bar – to hold his place among the nation’s best jockeys.
MAJOR WINS: Group (3) – Underwood Stakes (Russian Camelot), Empire Rose (Shout The Bar), VRC Oaks (Personal)

A sixth Oaks win for Damien Oliver as PERSONAL claims the Group 1 at @FlemingtonVRC.

? @Racingpic.twitter.com/MYcs4s8Dhp

7. TOMMY BERRY – 47 votes

If James McDonald wasn’t around Tommy Berry would easily have won the Sydney jockey’s premiership this season. In fact, his 111 wins would have won every Sydney premiership since Darren Beadman’s bumper 164-wins season in 2006/07. Running second this year will no doubt drive him on to go one better next season. When asked a few months ago, Berry was the only rider asked who said they’d rather win the jockey’s title than the $15 million Everest. Berry’s overall strike rate this season is 20.6 per cent which is great and he’s entering the prime of his career so expect Berry to be in the top handful of jockeys for the next decade at least and surge up the all-time Group 1 leaderboard. Few do their homework better. When asked about a horse, even if he hasn’t ridden it before, Berry can tell you just about everything about it. His professionalism is as good as it gets.
MAJOR WINS: Group 1 (5) – Golden Slipper (Stay Inside), Queen Of The Turf (Nettoyer), Rosehill Guineas (Mo’unga), Golden Rose (Ole Kirk), George Main (Kolding)

Stay Inside romps home to win the 2021 Longines #GoldenSlipper with a perfect steer from @TommyBerry21 for @Freedman_bros! pic.twitter.com/jwI5n8O4Dn

6. CRAIG WILLIAMS – 47 votes
(Rode 6 Group 1 winners for the season compared to Berry’s 5)

Williams finished sixth in the Melbourne jockeys’ premiership with 35 wins for the season but he spent large periods of time riding interstate, including in Queensland where he won the Group 1 Tatt’s Tiara on the Mike Moroney-trained Tofane on which he also won the Stradbroke Handicap. ‘Willo’ also won the TAB Classic in Adelaide on Instant Celebrity while his partnership with Behemoth brought two Group 1 wins in the spring while he also steered September Run to victory in the Coolmore Stud Stakes. Williams’ methodical approach to form produced another $12 million in prizemoney for the jockeys’ rides in 2020/21.
MAJOR WINS: Group 1 (6) – Memsie Stakes (Behemoth), Sir Rupert Clarke (Behemoth), Coolmore Stud Stakes (September Run), TAB Classic (Instant Celebrity), Stradbroke (Tofane), Tattersall’s Tiara (Tofane)

Tofane and Craig Williams combined for a Group 1 double during the Brisbane winter. Picture: Grant Peters — Trackside PhotographySource:Supplied

5. KERRIN MCEVOY – 49 votes

His record in big money and Group 1 races is second to none with three victories in the Melbourne Cups and three wins in The Everest. The only race of the so-called grand slam that has eluded him is the Cox Plate. McEvoy has won 79 Group 1s during his career with 10 of those victories coming in Europe when riding for Godolphin earlier this century. This season McEvoy rode another three Group 1 winners taking out the Epsom on Probabeel along with the Australasian Oaks and Vinery Stud Stakes on Hungry Heart. His biggest win undoubtedly though was The Everest on Classique Legend while he also combined successfully with Mugatoo while Chris Waller was his most rewarding trainer partnership. A Hall of Fame jockey in-waiting.
MAJOR WINS: Group 1 (3) – Australasian Oaks (Hungry Heart), Vinery Stud Stakes (Hungry Heart) Epsom (Probabeel), The Everest (Classique Legend)

WOW!

That is all.

CLASSIQUE LEGEND WINS THE #TABEVEREST! pic.twitter.com/8YHyiPYg4K

4. WILLIAM PIKE – 55 votes

They don’t call him the wizard for nothing. Just about everything Willie Pike has touched has turned to gold over the last 18 months and the West Australian riding star loves few things more than plundering Victorian Group 1 riches. Basing himself in Melbourne during last year’s spring carnival, and returning for the autumn this year, he added another four Group 1s to his trophy cabinet in the east. Any questions over whether Pike could mix it with Australia’s best jockeys have been emphatically answered and he is now a sought-after go-to man for some of Australia’s top stables when he comes east. Pike’s easy-going, uncomplicated and fun-loving nature has also made him a smash-hit with racing fans.
MAJOR WINS: Group 1 (5) – William Reid (Masked Crusader), Oakleigh Plate (Celebrity Queen), Caulfield Guineas (Ole Kirk), Caulfield Stakes (Arcadia Queen), Railway Stakes (Inspirational Girl)

Willie Pike winds up Ole Kirk in the Caulfield Guineas. Picture: Reg Ryan – Racing Photos via Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images

3. HUGH BOWMAN – 87 votes

Hugh Bowman will forever be remembered as the rider of the great Winx but the champion jockey has forged a wonderful career that includes nearly 2400 winners, 99 at Group 1 level (95 in Australia). He’s also won four Sydney jockey premierships even though he is heavier than most riders which limits his opportunities. Laid-back by nature, Bowman is seemingly impervious to pressure and he has ridden at a consistently high level for nearly two decades. His masterful ride on Mugatoo to win the All Star Mile earlier this year was Bowman at his brilliant best while he also delivered big time aboard Savatiano, Montefilia and Duais at Group 1 level.
MAJOR WINS: Group 1 (3) – Canterbury Stakes (Savatiano), Flight Stakes (Montefilia), Queensland Oaks (Duais)

Hugh Bowman combined with Duais to win the Group 1 Queensland Oaks for Edward Cummings. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside PhotographySource:Supplied

2. JAMIE KAH – 90 votes

Nobody has dominated Melbourne riding ranks like Kah this season – nobody! The only thing more impressive than a growing and well-documented tally of winners, has been the 25-year-old’s overall consistency this season. Kah has more thirds, fourths and fifths than any other jockey in Melbourne and ranks second to Damien Oliver in runner-up cheques. Exceptional rides aboard Nature Strip ($4.40), Cascadian ($8), Vega One ($12) and Mr Quickie ($21) delivered Kah four Group 1s at Flemington, Randwick, Eagle Farm and Caulfield respectively. The next challenge for Kah will be to get a spring major on the board and maintain the level of excellence next season and beyond.
MAJOR WINS: Group 1 (4) – Toorak Hcp (Mr Quickie), Lightning Stakes (Nature Strip), Kingsford-Smith (Vega One), Doncaster Mile (Cascadian)

Jamie Kah did what no jockey had ever done before in Victoria when she cracked 100 winners in a season. Picture: Jason EdwardsSource:News Corp Australia

1. JAMES McDONALD – 111 votes

James McDonald has ridden more than 1700 winners, 54 at Group 1 level and he’s about to be crowned Sydney’s premier jockey for the fifth time – and he’s still only 29! McDonald is the complete package, an outstanding horseman who is perfectly balanced in the saddle, he’s fearless and a brilliant tactician. He makes fewer mistakes than other riders and is fiercely competitive whether he is riding in a maiden or Group 1 race. A future Hall of Famer and destined to be one of the all-time great jockeys he was in sparkling form all season landing eight Group 1 races, including three aboard Verry Elleegant while he combined with the late season star Zaaki to win the Doomben Cup.
MAJOR WINS: Group 1 (8) – Champagne Stakes (Captivant), ATC Sires’ Produce (Anamoe), TJ Smith (Nature Strip), Ranvet (Verry Elleegant), Chipping Norton (Verry Elleegant), Winx Stakes (Verry Elleegant), Queensland Derby (Kukeracha), Doomben Cup (Zaaki)

SHE'S DONE IT.

WHAT A RACE.

VERRY ELLEEGANT KNOCKS OFF ADDEYBB IN THE RANVET STAKES. pic.twitter.com/udAVClSEbI

THE FINAL TALLY

1 – James McDonald – 111

2 – Jamie Kah – 90

3 – Hugh Bowman – 87

4 – William Pike – 55

5 – Kerrin McEvoy – 49

6 – Craig Williams – 47

7 – Tommy Berry – 47

8 – Damien Oliver – 38

9 – Damian Lane – 36

10 – Nash Rawiller – 24

Originally published as10-to-1: Australian jockeys for 2020-21 season

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