Legendary jockey Darren Beadman was glued to the screen as they thundered past the Flemington winning post for the first time in last week's Melbourne Cup.
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Most of his attention was on jockey James McDonald, and just how he planned to concoct a winning ride aboard his star mare Verry Elleegant from barrier 18.
With 2000m still to run in the race, Beadman knew McDonald was on the verge of joining him in the ever-exclusive group of Melbourne Cup winning jockeys.
"I was watching him and seeing where he was going to end up on her and he slotted her into a beautiful position one off with not much traffic around her and she was able to get into a nice rhythm and routine," Beadman said.
"She's not an easy horse to ride with her profile of racing and her mannerisms in her races.
"Coming around the winning post and around that corner at the 2000 he just popped her three deep. You don't really like to sit three deep but when he was assured that Spanish Mission was in front of him and you know it's going to run two mile, you're like the passenger for Spanish Mission because it's going to take you wherever you want to go.
"You just switch off and let him do all the work and come on the scene as a fresh horse."
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Hall of Fame hoop Beadman is better qualified than most to comment on McDonald's rise to jockey superstardom.
He rode two Melbourne Cup winners in a stellar riding career, which included 85 Group 1 winners, and led to him being the youngest jockey inducted into the Australian Racing Hall of Fame.
A horror fall in Hong Kong in 2012 drew the curtain on almost three decades in the saddle before he joined the Godolphin training empire where he remains as James Cummings' assistant.
Beadman knows McDonald well, the latter having enjoyed a stint as the lead stable rider for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's Australian racing operation before an 18-month suspension cost him his position.
McDonald was suspended at the end of 2016 after it emerged he had placed a $1000 bet on a horse he was riding.
"It's not til something's taken away from you that you actually appreciate it," Beadman said of McDonald's suspension.
"James is obviously out there in the public forum and everyone wants to be his mate and whatever and that's where mischief comes in, and sometimes when you're a little bit immature and you're just running with the moment a bit.
"I've seen it, blokes have tried to do it to me too, they give you the world and promise you this and promise you that, how good's this and before you know it, it's a spider web."
The 29-year-old New Zealander returned a different man in the saddle after serving his suspension.
Twenty five of his 59 Group 1 winners have come since he resumed in 2018, including four at this year's Flemington Carnival. He piloted Home Affairs to victory in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) and followed up Verry Elleegant's dominant win with salutes last Saturday aboard Nature Strip and Zaaki.
"It was inevitable that it was going to happen - I've always admired his skill and his strength and balance," Beadman said.
"He'll even become a better rider I think, you don't really hit your prime as a rider until you're in your mid-to-late 30s.
"That all boils down to maturity and being mentally tough. The mental toughness is the thing that really sets you apart as well, being able to sustain your consistency, and being able to pace yourself too.
"As a sportsman you do get burnout. And it's just a matter of harnessing that. He's got all the qualities that a champion rider has."
James Buckley
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
James is a Queanbeyan boy enjoying his second stint at the Canberra Times, more than eight years on from his first. In between he's traveled the world, and spent time covering sport in Sydney.
