Clinton McDonald is a multiple Group One winning Trainer based at the Cranbourne Training Centre, continuing one of Australia’s most respected racing dynasties. He is the son of trainer Ross McDonald, grandson of Bon Hoysted, and great-grandson of legendary horseman Fred Hoysted, and grew up immersed in the racing industry.
McDonald began training in his own right in 2000, recording his first winner with Kirabati in 2001, and has since developed a highly successful stable that regularly competes at metropolitan and Group level. Among his early headline performers was Regal Roller, a multiple Group 1 winner whose victories in races such as the Futurity Stakes, Toorak Handicap and Emirates Stakes established McDonald as a trainer capable of producing elite racehorses.
In recent years he has gained particular recognition for his success with two-year-olds, highlighted by victories in the Group 1 Blue Diamond Stakes, Australia’s premier juvenile race. McDonald won the race in 2024 with outstanding filly Hayasugi, who completed the rare Preview–Prelude–Blue Diamond treble, and again in 2026 with talented filly Streisand, cementing his reputation as one of Australia’s leading trainers of young horses.
Training from Cranbourne, McDonald continues to prepare a strong team of horses for major races across Australia while carrying forward a proud family legacy in the sport.
