CRAIG WILLIAMS IS AS INSIGHTFUL AS EVER AS HE ASSESSES HIS BIG RACE CHANCES FOR SATURDAY

By Graham Potter | Thursday, June 10, 2021

Master jockey Craig Williams kept his eye in with a winning ride at the Sunshine Coast yesterday as he lines up yet another big day of feature race rides at Eagle Farm on Stradbroke Day.

As usual, as is the case with any conversation with Williams, his opinions provide keen insight into relevant matters and he was happy to share these views on the chances of his rides in the three main features on Saturday … Tofane (in the Stradbroke), Tiger Of Malay (in the J J Atkins) and Paths Of Glory (in the Q22),

Williams … talking about Tofane (in the Stradbroke):

“I’m pretty excited to pick up the ride on Tofane,” said Williams.

“The way she has been placed and programmed ends up being ideal for this type of race. That, and her weight as a Group 1 All Aged Stakes winner were factors that really registered with me, to the point that I actually asked my manager to get me on the horse.

“He got me my wish. I have just got to make sure I do my bit now. I know she is as good as I think she is, but she has to be at her best on the day because it is a cracking Stradbroke.”

Tofane’s was due to be sold at the recent Magic Millions Broodmare Sale but her strong second placing behind Emerald Kingdom in the BRC Sprint prompted her connections to extend her racing career. Tofane, a five-time winner with over $1.3 million banked in prize-money, will be second-up on Saturday. She has won two out of five starts when second-up.

Williams … talking about Tiger Of Malay (in the J J Atkins):

“He beat the fast finishing Converge last time in the Sires Produce. I quick look at the barrier draws shows that the draws of the two have been reversed.” Said Williams. (Converge drew wide last time but this time Tiger Of Malay is drawn out wide)

“We’ll have to do a bit of homework and work it out from there. Larry Cassidy has worked the horse. He worked Tiger Of Malay prior to him winning and he has worked the horse again and he said the horse has really come on.

“I thought there was a lot to like about Tiger Of Malay’s win. I had to use him to make him get into that position which turned out to be beneficial, but I also did pull the trigger a fair way out. I thought he was solid and the run was sustainable.

“We go up 200m and we take on probably the same types of horses with a different barrier draws and a couple of new ones coming in.

“It is what it should be … a great conclusion to the two-year-old series.”

Tiger Of Malay, who already has plenty of Group racing experience behind his name having raced in three Group 2’s and one Group 3 in only six career starts, continues to show progressive improvement. After a brief freshen-up, he finished fifth (behind Prince Of Boom) in the Champagne Classis over 1200m. The colt then stepped up to 1400m and won the Sires Produce and he will now tackle the 1600m trip for the first time.

Williams talking about Paths Of Glory (in the Q22):

“You probably have to call the Q22 the Zaaki Stakes the way the favourite is going,” said Williams.

“If something happens to Zaaki though, my horse is the only horse that has beaten him in his last three starts. Zaaki was his last two starts but, in his third last run, my horse beat him in the Group 3 JRA Plate. (Paths Of Glory won that day and Zaaki finished second, beaten by 0.20 lengths. Zaaki carried 6kg more than Paths Of Glory that day).

‘The weight conditions are not as favourable to my horse on his rating compared to a few of the others (he now meets Zaaki at level weights) but, on his day he is a really good horse and I’m hoping he has a chance of being a giant killer again.”

Apart from the main feature races Williams has two other rides on the day kicking off with the unbeaten Park Avenue in the Listed Oxlade Stakes in the opening event on the card and ending with Brooklyn Hustle in the Group 2 Dane Ripper Stakes which closes out the program.

If he were to win on these two runners, it wouldn’t be the first time William’s has bookended a meeting during the current Winter Carnival. Three weeks ago, he did just that when winning on Prince of Arragon and Only Words.

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