Williams has saddled several
high-profile, and prolific, winners over the years. In 2004,
Sendintank started the year on a handicap mark of 50, but won ten
handicaps on a variety of surfaces and finished the year on a
handicap of 91. Just for good measure, the Halling gelding also won
the Ladbrokes Mallard Handicap at York, off a mark of 96, the
following September.
That same year, the Williams-trained
Exponential, who had finished last of 13, beaten 17 lengths, on his
debut at Beverley six weeks previously, landed a gamble from 100/1 in
8/1 in the Wright Brothers Maiden Auction Stakes at Nottingham. A
spokesman for Ladbrokes, who reportedly lost £160,000 on the race,
said, “This is the biggest winning market mover on a single day's
trade we can remember.” The victory didn’t go unnoticed by the
Jockey Club, who launched an investigation into betting patterns
surrounding Exponential, who traded as high as 280/1 on the betting
exchanges at one point.
Hogmaneigh, whom Williams originally
bought for £18,000, won five of his 36 races for the yard and
amassed nearly £148,000 in total prize money. His victories included
the Vodafone “Dash” Stakes on Derby Day at Epsom in 2007 and the
Portland Handicap at Doncaster in 2008. Eton Rifles whom he acquired,
as 6-year-old, from David Elsworth in October 2011. Eton Rifles won
five Listed races for the yard, including the Prix Contessina at
Fontainebleu three years running in 2012, 2013, 2014. More recently,
Williams also saddled Royal Birth to win the totescoop6 Heritage
Handicap at Ascot in 2016 and the Betway Hever Sprint Stakes at
Lingfield in 2017.
Williams had his best season so far,
both numerically and monetarily, in 2016, when he saddled 51 winners
and amassed just over £580,000 in total prize money. He couldn’t
quite match those levels in 2017, but has made a bright start to
2018, with 9 winners and nearly £125,000 in total prize money, to
lie third in the trainers’ championship table.
