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After party: Starts at 8pm, goes until late.
The man best placed to judge the elite form in today’s $700,000 Sistema Railway at Ellerslie is confident he is on the right horse.
Which means superstar international jockey Craig Williams thinks he and Kiwi gal Alabama Lass can beat his fellow Aussies in Arkansaw Kid and Jigsaw in the Group 1 highlight that wraps up the $4.5 million Karaka Millions meeting.
Williams may be in demand in his homeland, Hong Kong and Japan but has had plenty of success with New Zealand gallopers, winning the $1m Karaka Million Two-Year-Old on La Dorada last January and piloting Alabama Lass to win a A$500,000 race at Flemington last March.
Williams also rode Alabama Lass to finished a close second in the Group 1 Moir Stakes in Melbourne in September and regularly rides in Victoria’s richest sprint races, often against both Arkansaw Kid and Jigsaw.
So nobody knows tonight’s major Railway players like the man they call “Willo”.
“I obviously know the Victorian sprinters really well and was in their most recent races over here,” Williams told the Herald from his home in Melbourne.
“They are good, fast horses and racing well but I think my mare [Alabama Lass] is up to them.
“When Alabama Lass finished second here in the Moir, I thought she could win the Manikato next start, which is a good Group 1 race.
“She didn’t because I think she choked down but that is the level she is at and those other two and up to that level too or maybe just below.
“What really surprises me is Alabama Lass getting into this race with just 54kgs, that is a huge help and she is drawn inside the other two so I think she can beat them.”
Williams says one concern is Jigsaw’s jump-and-run racing style that could see him put pressure on Alabama Lass.
“That early burn will be interesting because if we go too hard that could set it up for Arkansaw Kid tracking us both.
“But taking the draws, the weights and the types of racing they have been performing in, I think I am on the best chance.”
Alabama Lass has been one of the best backed horses at tonight’s meeting, opening at $3.80 post draw but dipping below $3 with the TAB yesterday.
Williams will reunite with La Dorada in tonight’s $1.5m Karaka Millions Three-Year-Old in which she clashes with the unbeaten filly Well Written, who will carry a fortune of multi bets tonight.
“Well Written looks very good but I am hoping we can follow her and get the last crack,” says Williams.
He also partners the favourite Knobelas (R3, No.15) in tonight’s $1,040,000 Aotearoa Classic for four-year-olds, one of the more even races of the meeting with the Victorian mare’s favouritism seemingly partly due to his engagement and the respect for her trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent junior.
The large number of Australian horses and trainers add depth to the meeting and Williams, fellow international jockey Damian Lane, Ben Thompson, Angela Jones and ex-pat Kiwi rider Logan Bates can only attract eye balls from across the Tasman.
But for all their star power, it is local genius Opie Bosson who could reinforce his claim as the King of the Karaka Millions as he partners Kinnaird in the Two-Year-Old Millions and Arkansaw Lad as part of a strong book at his favourite meeting of the year.
Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald’s Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world’s biggest horse racing carnivals.
