James McDonald has paid tribute to Verry Elleegant following her tragic passing.
McDonald partnered with the star mare to win the 2021 Melbourne Cup which was the crowning moment of the career of both the jockey and horse.
The New Zealand hoop admits he felt plenty of emotion when he was informed of Verry Elleegant’s death earlier on Monday.
“It was unbelievable to receive the news early this morning, it just doesn't feel real, to be honest with you,” McDonald said on SEN.
“I don't really get too emotional, but it actually bought a little tear to my eye, I had a pretty big soft spot (for her). She arguably gave me my greatest day on a race track in my life.
“So for her to be gone so early, it's really, really sad.
“She was such a great horse and she wore her heart on her sleeve every time she put her foot on a race track, whether it was track work, trials, or race days.
“She just gave her all, she was an incredible race mare. Just gone too early.”
The pair won a total of 11 races together, with nine of those coming at Group 1 level including the 3200m Melbourne Cup.
So was Verry Elleegant one of the special ones for McDonald?
“She is the special one. Any horse that can win our greatest race on turf in Australia is a special horse,” he added.
“She carried an amazing weight that day (in 2021), she won with great authority. To this day I think it was the best, most well-rounded and executed two-mile performance I've been on.
“It was the most smoothest run. It was just like angels were with us. It was just so smooth and she demolished them.
“I’ve actually just gone back and looked at some scenes. It was surreal, it was incredible, and she's the one that gave me that moment.”
Verry Elleegant, who would end up in the care of champion trainer Chris Waller, was known for being a bit of a terror within her runs, often pulling fiercely and making life difficult for her jockey.
But McDonald, who was able to get the very best out of her, feels that only added to her fabled story.
“I suppose it's part of her story where she wasn't the easiest and it was well-documented all the way through her career,” he added.
“She came from New Zealand. She was she was very, very headstrong. She never lost that to be fair, and that was probably part of why she was so good, even though maybe in some races, it might have let her down at times.
“She was just there for you every time, you’d take her to war with you every day of the week if you could. She never died wondering.”
Her fellow Kiwi believes the mare was simply “incredible”.
“She was just an incredible, versatile mare and just got better and better with age,” McDonald continued.
“She became the people's horse by the end of it, because of her courage. She was the ultimate racehorse from a jockey's point of view.
“She could do anything, she could sustain a long gallop, she could come back, go on wet and dry ground.
“She was just an incredible horse.”
The Verry Elleegant Stakes (formerly the Chipping Norton) will be run at Randwick on March 2.
The Waller-trained Fangirl, who will likely be ridden by McDonald, is currently the hot favourite for the Group 1 race which Verry Elleegant won on two occasions (2021 and 2022).