Malcolm Johnston

Most people wouldn’t be thrilled to be synonymous with a horse, but when sporting fans in Australia think Malcolm ‘Miracle’ Johnston, they think Kingston Town. That famous partnership made them both immortal and has given ‘Miracle’ much fodder for the stories and jokes he shares with his audiences.

As Malcolm tells it, he “rode for 20 years on paper and had 14,000 rides and rode over 2,000 winners across 11 different countries. But with 56 career suspensions and time off for injuries, it worked out at over five years I was out, so I only rode for 15 years (of those 20) and so I was a lot better than I really thought!”

As for the ‘Miracle’ name, he gave it to himself. “I wasn’t going to give myself a shitty nickname!” But his record slides into the miracle class with 39 Group 1 wins to his credit. And he had a realistic view of the world of racing: “Everything went according to plan except getting beat by a neck. In our game, you win by a neck, you’re a superstar. You get beat by a neck, you’re a mug!” But ‘Miracle’ was rarely a mug in the punters’ eyes.

At his shows, numerous funny one-liners flow from Malcolm’s mouth. If he hadn’t been a jockey, he’d have probably got by in life as a comedian! The still fit, retired Sydney premiership jockey will have your audience in stiches.

He’s generous with his time after the gig, and will mingle and share a drink and a joke with your guests at the end of formal proceedings.