Leading Australian jockey James McDonald is donating all prize money he earns at Flemington on Melbourne Cup day to support injured apprentice Tom Prebble. Prebble, the 23-year-old son of Melbourne Cup-winning jockey Brett Prebble, remains in rehabilitation after a devastating fall that left him with no feeling below his T4 vertebrae.
McDonald secured his first win of the day in Race 4, the $150,000 Schweppervescence Plate, with first place taking home $82,000. His five per cent share of $4,100 goes directly to Prebble. McDonald visited Prebble just hours after winning the Cox Plate aboard Via Sistina late last month.
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.
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. Victorian Jockeys Association chief executive Matt Hyland said on October 8: “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. 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.
