Craig Williams took his form study to another level at the end of Saturday’s Morphettville meeting when his post-race visit and gift to Nigel Latham turned the terminally ill thoroughbred racing fan into an instant celebrity.
No jockey anywhere in the world is more thorough in their preparation than Williams, who knows the form book from cover to cover, covers every blade of grass on his track walks and delivers on-brand communications before and after races. That Williams, who rode the 63rd Group One winner of his career – 59 in Australia, one in France, one in Hong Kong, one in the United Arab Emirates and one in the United Kingdom – when he steered Instant Celebrity to TAB Classic glory in the seventh of Saturday’s nine races at Morphettville had the awareness to spot Latham strapped to a portable bed positioned trackside and the class to present his goggles to the dying man following their conversation tells you everything you need to know about the jockey.
Williams attracts a lot of nasty comments on social media from faceless keyboard warriors, who either use #Willowed to criticise his rides or poke fun at his post-race interviews in which he goes out of his way to thank everyone associated with his success. The world would be a much better place if those people had a fraction of the civility of Williams.
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