Goodwood: James McDonald, Australian racing’s golden boy, wowed racegoers at Glorious Goodwood on Tuesday when delivering a class act aboard Godolphin’s Dutch Connection to win the Group 2 Lennox Stakes, the feature race on the opening day of British racing’s prestigious summer racing festival.

Already regarded as one of the best jockeys in his native Australia with over 30 Group 1 victories to his name, McDonald’s brilliant run of form on his brief positing in England as a stand-in for the suspended William Buick, continued in glorious fashion.

Riding the Charlie Hills-trained Dutch Connection, one of three Godolphin-owned runners in the seven-furlong contest, McDonald delivered the favourite inside the final furlong for a comfortable 1 ¼-length victory over Home Of The Brave, the mount of James Doyle wearing the stable’s second colours.

“He’s awesome and I can’t believe I’ve won a big race for Charlie Hills. He’s an absolute brother of mine and he’s had so much faith in me and I can’t thank him enough,” said McDonald.

“It’s been brilliant [riding in England]. I’m going home on Saturday, so I’m making the most of my opportunities and, hopefully, I get a couple more.”

McDonald also won the Group 2 Princes of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket earlier this month and earned high praise from Hills. “It’s three years ago that James came over for the first time and we seemed to hit it off pretty well,” he said.

“I think he’s a world-class jockey and still very young, so I think we’re going to see him here quite a bit.

“The first morning James came down to ride, dad [Barry Hills] asked me who he was and he said ‘I haven’t seen a jockey like that since Steve Cauthen was on these gallops’, so that’s a high accolade.

“He [Dutch Connection] won his maiden here and ran well in this race last year. I always thought he had a favourite’s chance.”

Dutch Connection, who holds entries for the Celebration Mile (Goodwood, August 27 Group 2), Sprint Cup (Haydock, September 3 Group 1) and Park Stakes (Doncaster, September 10, Group 2), could also be headed to France and America in the second half of the season.

Hills said: “We’ll have to speak to John Ferguson [Godolphin’s racing manager] to see where we go. There’s an option for him in Saratoga, maybe the Prix Maurice de Gheest in France as well.

“He’s pretty versatile with trip and fast ground is really the key for him. He’s a fine, big horse who should improve as he gets older.”

Dutch Connection had finished second in the Lennox Stakes last year behind Godolphin’s Toormore and was runner-up in another pair of Group 2s this term. This was his first success since he captured the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2015.

Earlier, Irish-trained War Decree came out with flying colours in the Group 2 Vintage Stakes to storm into the reckoning for next year’s English 2,000 Guineas for which he is a 10/1 choice (from 25/1).

The American-bred colt, who was beaten by Godolphin’s Boynton in Newmarket’s Superlative Stakes, reversed the form in clinical fashion under a confident ride by Ryan Moore.

Boynton was third, with Godolphin’s second strong Thunder Snow, a 1 3/4-length runner-up.

Mark Johnston’s Fire Fighting claimed the honour of winning the opening contest at Goodwood when successful in the Exchange Stakes.