Foot fracture puts James McDonald on the sidelines

James Mcdonald will be out of action until early next month after Australia’s premier Group 1 rider was found to be suffering from a fracture in his left foot.

The regular rider for some of the expected stars of the Spring Carnival was involved in a fall at Wyong on Friday and while he rode at Randwick on Saturday, where he partnered a winning double, subsequent scans detected an issue that requires a stint on the sidelines.

The 31-year-old revealed the news via social media on Tuesday afternoon.

“Many thanks for all your support and well wishes after my fall at Wyong on Friday,” McDonald tweeted.

“I’ve since had more scans that have unfortunately revealed the injury was more severe than first thought.

“Doctors have advised me I’ll need to take the next month off riding to recover and hopefully I’ll be back for the remainder of the spring.”

The injury means a new rider will be required for Shinzo when he resumes in the Group 1 Golden Rose on September 23 with McDonald having done the bulk of the lead-up work on the star Snitzel colt, who was ridden to Golden Slipper victory by Ryan Moore.

McDonald will also miss the triple Group 1 raceday at Randwick on September 30, featuring the Epsom Handicap, The Metropolitan and Flight Stakes.

McDonald is hopeful of being back for the following week’s Turnbull Stakes, which features Cox Plate favourite Romantic Warrior, with the $20 million The Everest to be run in Sydney the following Saturday, October 14.