By David Nagel
Craig Williams had two spring carnival classics already tucked away in his back pocket before he missed the ride on Dunaden in the Melbourne Cup. Here he races away with the W.S.Cox Plate aboard the Greg Eurell trained Pinker Pinker. 72980 Picture: Slickpix slickpix.com.au.
CRANBOURNE jockey Craig Williams’s nightmare week continued on Tuesday when the horse he was originally booked to ride, Dunaden, won the $6 million Emirates Melbourne Cup at Flemington.
Williams missed his chance at a unique shot at racing history when he was suspended for his ride on Dream Pedlar in the Bendigo Cup on 26 October.
Williams rode Dunaden to victory in the Geelong Cup but was replaced in the Melbourne Cup by Frenchman Christophe Lemaire.
Earlier in the spring he won the Caulfield Cup aboard Southern Speed and the Cox Plate on Pinker Pinker and would have become the first jockey in racing history to win all three classics in the same season if he had won on Dunaden.
Williams appealed the decision twice through racing’s governing body, Racing Victoria, and then failed to get the decision over-turned by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) on the eve of the great race.
Williams was obviously disappointed but philosophical when he spoke to the CNews on the morning after the race that stops the nation.
“Look, it’s every jockey, trainer’s, owner’s ambition to compete in a Melbourne Cup – it’s what we all aspire to so, of course it’s disappointing,” Williams said.
“I’ve had a great spring up until now; I’d never won a Caulfield Cup until this year so I’ve been pretty lucky, really.”
The swings and roundabouts of being a jockey have played a major role in Williams’s spring campaign.
He may have missed the ride on Dunaden but knows things could have been a hell of a lot worse if he had kept the ride on star sprinter Crystal Lily, instead of being replaced by Glen Boss.
“I had the ride on Crystal Lily and was replaced by Glen Boss.
“The horse died at track work at the start of the spring and Bossy got injured and missed all the big races, that could have been me,” Williams said.
“It really does put things in perspective.” Williams spent Melbourne Cup Day at the movies with his family but said all the hype about him not watching the big race was a beat up.
“I never watch races when I’m suspended or injured. I record them and watch them back, I’ve always done it that way,” he said.
Williams said Lemaire rode Dunaden to perfection and there were no guarantees he would have won on the horse anyway.
The French connections invited Williams to the celebratory dinner and made him feel “really part of the team”.
The gun jockey will be back in the saddle on Sandown Classic day on Saturday 12 November.
