The Championships Race Highlights
Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes: Criterion (2015)
Darley TJ Smith Stakes: Master of Design (2012)
Schweppes Sydney Cup: Ista Kareem (2009)
About
Craig Williams has won multiple Group One races in Australia and worldwide. In 2011, Williams came close to being the first jockey in history to achieve a unique Australian horse racing triple, in winning the Caulfield Cup, Cox Plate and Melbourne Cup.
After winning the first two on Southern Speed and Pinker Pinker respectively, Williams was suspended for careless riding during the 2011 Bendigo Cup. The horse he was scheduled to ride in the Melbourne Cup, Dunaden, went on to win with last-minute replacement jockey Christophe Lemaire on board.
In the 2012 Caulfield Cup, Williams rode Dunaden to an unprecedented victory. A few days before the race Dunaden had drawn the outside barrier (barrier 22, although after scratchings it became barrier 18), and was also the top weighted horse for the race, carrying 58kg.
Dunaden had subsequently drifted in the betting odds, as no horse had ever won the Caulfield Cup from wider than barrier 15, nor carrying topweight. The win also made it back-to-back Caulfield Cup victories for Williams.
He was seen at his brilliant best guiding Criterion to victory in the Longines Queen Elizabeth Stakes last year.