Jubilant McDonald wins place in exclusive group by a nose | Hawkes Bay Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Hawkes Bay

With all the talk of rain and slow tracks in the past week, the weather gods must have agonised over what to deliver.

Come Saturday afternoon at the Hawke's Bay Racecourse in Hastings, the sign from the heavens spoke volumes, albeit in the fashion of a government budget - something to make everyone happy.

The incomplete but radiant rainbow arching over the track was defiant, promising a pot of gold ($125,000) to the winners before the 4.01pm start to the $200,000 Mudgway PartsWorld Stakes in the first of three meetings on the Hawke's Bay Spring Carnival calendar.

A persistent drizzle, kicking in about 3.30pm, punctuated the balmy day as a relatively sparse crowd predominantly filled the Hylton Smith Members Stand balcony to watch race 9.

One minute, 26.69 seconds and 1400m later, jockey James McDonald, sporting red silks with yellow sleeves and light blue cap dotted in gold, had pipped past the post on Keep The Peace. Just by a nose, actually, as Wall Street, with Michael Coleman in the saddle, kept McDonald honest.

Lisa Allpress rode 2008 winner Fritzy Boy 1 lengths behind into third position with Trudy Thornton on Bulginbaah another two lengths behind in fourth place.

"Bring on Australia!" McDonald quipped as he dismounted.

He could barely contain his excitement, fisting the air, hugging his owners and even finding time to embrace a beaming blonde over the railing of the Bird Cage at the pavilion end for a well-deserved peck on his cheek.

His girlfriend, perhaps?

"Oh these fellows have girls hugging them every time they win," a jovial racegoer told SportToday, claiming he was the first person to give McDonald a break in a group one race in Wellington but to no avail - that's another story.

Lugging his gear, the 18-year-old Cambridge jockey snaked his way to the scales for the weigh-in and again clenched his fist in triumph, easily surpassing emotions any other contemporary jockey has shown in the past few years.

Although his time was not as quick as what his father, Brett McDonald, had clocked (1:22.99) in winning the 1986 Mudgway race (Byerley Thoroughbred Stakes in those days) on Catering King, McDonald had entered the realm of an exclusive group one club. The teenager struck gold in group one when he was 16 years old on Special Mission in the Breeders Stakes and then followed that up with the New Zealand Oaks on Jungle Rocket.

"It's awesome. I've come back from Europe (England and Ireland) and I've learned a lot. I've put it into practice today and come away with a group one win on a fantastic horse," he said before stepping back out to the Birdcage for the presentation ceremony with Cambridge trainer Shaune Ritchie and co-owner Paul Bellingham. The other fellow Gold Coast owners are former top jockey Mick Dittman and his son, Luke Dittman.

"I learned different things there because you're up against the best in the world.

"I can't share my trade secrets but it was an eye opener."

McDonald sported a shiner around his left eye that reflected just about all the hues of the rainbow.

"It's that other fellow, he got me after the race," he said with a poker face before breaking into a smile to explain a horse had headbutted him on Friday.

You couldn't say the same for Keep The Peace, who wasn't in the mood to do any laps of glory as the agitated 4-year-old mare proved to be a handful for her strapper.

The bloody nose she was sporting didn't have a jocular ending.

Explained McDonald: "The guy pushing the button didn't open the [starting] gate [in time] so she just charged into it and that happens.

"It's a hassle but you've got to live with the consequences."

After the presentation, McDonald scurried off for the last race of the day, the $20,000 Red Badge Premier, also over 1400m.

The colours he wore, the trainer and the owners had changed but McDonald's grin remained as the strapper led the combination out on a Richard Sherwin-trained horse aptly named Me.

It was always going to be about him. It hardly mattered that he finished 17th in a field of 20 in race 10 of the country's first premier meeting.

So how hard was it for McDonald to pick himself up for a minor race soon after nailing a group one humdinger that was "up there" with his other major acquisitions?

"You're riding for connections and you've got to do the best job for them. You put it [the big win] behind you.

"You can have a bad race and a good race so you've got to practise for the job at hand," he explained.

How did McDonald plan to celebrate?

"Go home and go to bed," he said with a grin.