Sandown racetrack doesn’t frequently attract the Group racing spotlight, but Craig Williams would be happy to see more of it after his commanding performance at Saturday’s Carlyon Stakes meeting.
The premier Melbourne jockey showcased his dominance at the fixture, which was transferred from the under-construction Moonee Valley, securing four victories. His haul included the day’s Group 3 feature race aboard Cavalry Girl, trained by Tom Dabernig.
Williams has a strong record at Sandown, including a Group 1 Underwood Stakes win on Zaaki, but he doesn’t often get the opportunity to ride in feature races there nowadays, making him thrilled to celebrate a successful return.
“We’ve been lucky that Sandown can take the weight (of transferred meetings) and it’s great to see plenty of people here and have a good day,” Williams stated.
He achieved a winning treble on Cavalry Girl, having previously steered Final Moment to victory for Clayton Douglas, and earlier saluted aboard Buggsy, trained by Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr.
His first winner of the day was aboard the Tony and Calvin McEvoy-trained Nearco Frod, who extended its winning sequence to four races in the 2400m event.
The 1000m Carlyon Stakes saw Williams reunited with Cavalry Girl, who had previously recorded dominant wins at her last two starts under Todd Pannell and Linda Meech.
On Saturday, the four-year-old daughter of Bivouac exhibited a different racing style, held up behind Beast Mode until the final 200 metres before launching an impressive burst through a tight gap along the inside rail.
The $2.30 favourite prevailed by a half-length from Bazaball Rewarded ($10), with Losesomewinmore ($7.50) finishing a length behind in third. Punters comparing the best horse racing betting apps saw the favourite justify the strong market support.
Williams commented that Cavalry Girl’s capacity to overcome that challenge demonstrated her significant progress this preparation, endorsing her as a strong chance for the Group 1 Moir Stakes (1000m) back at Sandown on September 5.
“She’s ticked another box coming here and being successful at Sandown, which may give Tom a good option in two weeks,” Williams said. “She would definitely be putting her hand up very high in a Moir this year.”
Following her Carlyon Stakes victory, Cavalry Girl firmed into $4.50 second favouritism for the Moir Stakes, with only the speedy filly Natural Fling ($3.50) quoted shorter.
Fancy a punt on the Moir Stakes? Explore the racing odds available at your favourite Australian betting sites.
