Turf’s top gun

By Brad Kingsbury
CRANBOURNE born-and-bred jockey Craig Williams won his second consecutive Scobie Breasley Medal at last Saturday night’s Victorian Thoroughbred Racing Awards.
The 2006-07 Victorian racing season was dominated by Williams, stable jockey for Lindsay Park trainer David Hayes and he was also named the Victorian Racing Media Association Personality of the Year.
It was a double celebration for the pair with Hayes taking home the Fred Hoysted Medal as the state’s leading trainer.
The partnership started after they developed a working relationship while both were based in Hong Kong and Craig started riding the Hayes stable’s lightweight horses with good success.
Hayes started using Williams when he returned to Australia three years ago and the talented young hoop became Lindsay Park’s stable rider soon after.
“He had been away for a while and I don’t think a lot of trainers rated him that highly when he came back,” said Hayes.
“He started riding track work for me and then riding winners and it developed from there pretty quickly.”
Williams beat Berwick jockey Noel Callow for last season’s Scobie Breasley Medal and this season finished well clear of Craig Newitt to take out his second award.
Hayes said Williams was one of the most complete jockeys he had seen and his ability was due to a combination of factors.
“It’s a number of things, but his balance, attention to detail and consistency are big assets,” he said.
“His work ethic is second to none in Australia and probably almost as good as (South African jockey) Basil Markis who was a champion in Hong Kong.”
The Williams-Hayes relationship is more professional than personal, but Hayes said he knew the Williams family and credited Craig’s upbringing with much of his success.
“They are a lovely family. They are a very close and grounded family and that’s probably one of the reasons why Craig is so focussed on his job,” he said.
“I admire him greatly for what he’s done and I think his future’s very bright.”