Champion jockey James McDonald visits injured apprentice Tom Prebble hours after Cox Plate win
Cox Plate champion James McDonald has shown his class with a touching gesture after claiming victory at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Just hours after saluting aboard Via Sistina, the superstar jockey dusted himself off and took his trophy for a special visit to see injured apprentice Tom Prebble.
Prebble, the 23-year-old son of Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Brett, is in rehab after a devastating fall that has left him with no feeling below his T4 vertebrae.
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The racing fraternity continues to rally around Prebble, whose mother is Maree of the famous Payne family.
“Brilliant…so, so special and such a selfless gesture,” one fan wrote of McDonald’s visit with wife Katie.
Another said it was “awesome, great touch James, good luck Tommy” while one declared: “This is just the best.”
Michael Felgate on Racing.com coverage said: “It just gives another indication of the man J-Mac is. Tom looks absolutely rapt, I thought that was a beautiful moment.”
Via Sistina’s trainer Chris Waller was emotional as he spoke on McDonald’s support for Prebble.
“The racing family’s second to nine, isn’t it? It’s a beautiful family and we share each other’s good days and dark days. We’re all behind that young man, he’s a champion and we’re going to support him as best we can,” he said.
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Prebble moved from the Austin Hospital’s spinal care unit to the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Centre in Kew earlier this month.
He is undergoing intensive rehab with the goal of returning to live at home by the end of the year.
“Speaking with Tom, he has advised that four weeks on from his fall, he has no feeling or sensation below the T4 level of his spine,” Victorian Jockeys Association chief executive Matt Hyland said on October 8.
“With the support of the outstanding team at Talbot, Tom has already learned to transfer from his wheelchair to bed, in and out of a car, and begun working through the many challenges associated with a spinal cord injury.”
McDonald idolised Brett Prebble as a child and has well and truly become a hero to many himself in recent years.
Saturday marked his fourth straight Cox Plate win, a bittersweet one given the race is moving on from Moonee Valley while the famous course is redeveloped.
“It’s going to be sad next year but in saying that the Cox Plate is still on and it is going to be run and won,” McDonald said.
“I just hope I’m on as good a mare as I was today to ride in the race next year.
“There’s just so many sentimental things. The last Valley under this circumference, four-in-a-row, three champion racehorses.
“God I’m blessed. I’m just so proud of everyone that’s helped me out along the way.”
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