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James McDonald - Source: Getty Images
Champion jockey James McDonald described Saturday's Group 1 win aboard Guiseppina in the NZ$300,000 Telegraph Handicap as the biggest highlight of his riding career to date.
Guiseppina produced a brilliant finishing burst inside the final 200 metres of the race to soar past the Australian sprinter Atomic Force.
Guiseppina, trained by Stephen Ramsay and Julia Ritchie, is owned by Peter and Philip Vela of Pencarrow Stud who have been a big supporter of McDonald.
"Getting a Group 1 win for the Velas is an incredible feeling," McDonald said. "This is the biggest highlight of my riding career so far."
The Velas were instrumental in 20-year-old McDonald having a riding stint in the United Kingdom last year.
Ramsay said Guiseppina had worked brilliantly during the week which gave the camp plenty of confidence about her chance of winning Saturday's big race.
"We knew we had her dead right for the race," Ramsay said. "It was just a case of everything falling into place on the day which it did," he said.
Guiseppina ran out the 1200m distance in a smart time of 1:06.94.
Atomic Force was far from disgraced in running second. He had won the Railway Handicap at Ellerslie on New Year's Day. Third home in the event was El Chico.
The race was marred when with 500m to run Durham Town lost rider Vinnie Colgan when they ran out of room close to the inside running rail. Colgan was catapulted over the fence but fortunately neither he or the horse were injured.
