McDonald Follows in Cauthen's Footsteps

Sydney's champion jockey James McDonald earned many plaudits during his recent six-week stay in England. Perhaps the highest accolade was passed on by Lambourn trainer Charles Hills after McDonald had steered Dutch Connection (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}) to a well-judged victory in the G2 Lennox S. at Goodwood. In the winner's enclosure, Hills revealed how his father Barry had reacted the first time that he saw the New Zealander ride on the Lambourn Downs, “I haven't seen a jockey like that since Steve Cauthen was on these gallops.” Praise does not come any higher than that, considering the colossal impact which Cauthen made on British racing between 1979 and 1992.

Kentucky-born Cauthen was far from the first American rider to shine in England. The ethos which led to Prohibition hit American racing hard towards the end of the 19th century, prompting several jockeys to cross the Atlantic in an exodus spearheaded by Willie Simms and Tod Sloan. In 1900 Lester Reiff topped the jockeys' table, as did Danny Maher in both 1908 and '13. The success of these jockeys, along with Reiff's brother Johnny and Henry 'Skeets' Martin, is illustrated by the results from Royal Ascot in 1900, when 16 of the 28 winners were ridden by Americans.

As American racing prospered, however, American jockeys generally stayed at home, leaving the many Australians who used to come to Europe–the likes of Edgar Britt, 'Scobie' Breasley, Pat Glennon, Neville Sellwood, Bill Pyers, George Moore, Garnie Bouroure, Bill Williamson and Ron Hutchinson–to provide the stiffest opposition to the British and Irish jockeys for much of the 20th century. That all changed, however, in 1978 thanks to the vision of one of racing's most internationally minded competitors, the late Robert Sangster.

For many years, Robert Sangster had the bulk of his British string trained by his great friend Barry Hills. The pair looked to have a great chance in the G1 Derby in 1978 with Hawaiian Sound (Hawaii {SAF}). Hills' principal rider at the time was Ernie Johnson, who had won the Derby nine years previously on Blakeney (GB) (Hethersett {GB}) and who had partnered Enstone Spark (GB) (Sparkler {Ire}) to victory for the stable in the G1 1000 Guineas earlier that spring. However, Sangster prevailed on Hills to eschew Johnson and instead offer the ride to the Californian champion Willie Shoemaker. In the event, only the length of the nostril of Shirley Heights (GB) (Mill Reef) prevented an historic victory for 'The Shoe'.

There was, of course, no chance of persuading Shoemaker to move to the UK while he was ruling the roost at Santa Anita and Hollywood Park. This, though, was not the case with America's other headline jockey. Steve Cauthen rode in his first race in May 1976, shortly after his 16th birthday. The following year he was the country's leading rider with 487 winners, his mounts earning over $6 million. In 1978 'The Six Million Dollar Kid' won the Triple Crown on Affirmed (Exclusive Native). However, increasing height and weight quickly became a major problem for the teenager, and the higher weights carried in Europe seemed a very appealing option.

Steve Cauthen duly arrived in England in April 1979, still aged only 18, to take up a job riding Hills' horses in general and Sangster's in particular. He made his British debut on a cold and wet Saturday afternoon at Salisbury, riding one winner–Marquee Universal (Ire) (Home Guard)–from his three rides for Hills. Three weeks later he announced his arrival in even bolder style, guiding the Hills-trained Tap On Wood (Ire) (Sallust) to victory in the G1 2000 Guineas at Newmarket in the light green and black striped silks of Tony Shead.

Success bred success. For six years Hills and Cauthen made a formidable team. Arguably their finest shared hour came when Gildoran (GB) (Rheingold {Ire}) won the G1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot in 1984, a year which ended with Cauthen claiming the first of his three British jockeys' championships. That victory was the first of two Gold Cup triumphs for Sangster's admirable stayer, but the following year Gildoran triumphed under a different rider.

The best job in British racing became vacant in 1984 when Lester Piggott and Henry Cecil parted company. Consequently, Cauthen (with, presumably, a heavy heart) relinquished his position with Hills and Sangster in order move to Newmarket to accept a retainer to ride for Cecil. Sangster and Hills replaced him with the New Zealander Brent Thomson, who had been enjoyed some great victories in Australia riding for Sangster's trainer Colin Hayes.

Any regret which Cauthen might have felt when watching Gildoran win the Gold Cup under Brent Thomson would have been fully offset throughout the glorious summer of 1985. He and Cecil took four of that season's five Classics, Oh So Sharp (GB) (Kris {GB}) sweeping the Fillies' Triple Crown (1000 Guineas, G1 Oaks, G1 St Leger) and Slip Anchor (GB) (Shirley Heights {GB}) strolling home in the Derby. Two years later they landed another Derby with Reference Point (GB) (Mill Reef) who then followed up in the G1 King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Diamond S. and the St Leger. Other European Classic winners for the team included Diminuendo (Diesis {GB}), Old Vic (GB) (Sadler's Wells), Indian Skimmer (Storm Bird) and Snow Bride (Blushing Groom {Fr}); while Paean (GB) (Bustino) landed the G1 Ascot Gold Cup in 1987, a season in which Cauthen took the jockeys' championship with 197 winners, a massive total for a heavyweight rider in the pre-all-weather era. Among the champions of the '80s whom Cauthen partnered for other trainers were the outstanding fillies/mares Pebbles (GB) (Sharpen Up), Triptych (Riverman) and In The Groove (GB) (Night Shift), as well as the brilliant sprinter Never So Bold (Ire) (Bold Lad {Ire}).

Many of the stars of Cecil's stable at the time were owned by Sheikh Mohammed, who was so impressed by Cauthen's skills that he offered the jockey a (reportedly seven-figure) retainer to ride his horses irrespective of who trained them. Cauthen thus rode primarily for the Sheikh during the final two of the 14 seasons which he spent in Europe before finally giving up his battle with the scales in 1993.

When the pioneering American riders came to Britain late in the 19th century, their most obvious advantage derived from their riding styles, their relatively short stirrups and crouched stances helping them to outscore the locals who still favoured a long-legged upright stance. However, equally pertinent was their judgement of pace. Previously, it had been considered infra dig among British riders to make the running, so American jockeys made hay when consistently given free rein to dictate the tempo of a race.

Steve Cauthen fitted perfectly into the mould of his predecessors–and in particular proved a worthy successor to Danny Maher, who (unlike many of the other American riders who came to England at the time) was as respected for his good character as for his sublime skill in the saddle. Cauthen's finesse in the saddle and tactical nous were as flawless as his disciplinary record. Cecil liked his horses to race prominently, and Cauthen proved to be his perfect jockey, his all-the-way Derby victory on Slip Anchor being merely one of many big-race rides by which the jockey proved himself to be the supreme tactician.

Make no mistake: praise does not come any higher than putting a jockey on a par with Steve Cauthen. Whether winning the G2 Princess of Wales's S. at Newmarket from the front on Big Orange (GB) (Duke Of Marmalade {Ire}) or coming late in the G2 Lennox S. on Dutch Connection, James McDonald has provided British audiences with a six-week master-class in race-riding, keeping his mounts beautifully balanced, distributing their energy evenly through the race and securing a smooth and uninterrupted passage. He has yet to register anything like the extent of European success which Steve Cauthen achieved–but he has time on his side and, if he were to choose to return to the UK, prolific success would be almost guaranteed, while a warm welcome from professionals and race-goers alike would be a certainty.