Craig Williams to ride Dunaden in King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot
Jockey Craig A. Williams will regain his ride on Dunaden, as he gets ready for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes, taking place at Royal Ascot this weekend.
The 6-year-old has won two major events under Williams. The veteran jockey rode the horse to an emphatic win in the Group 1 Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Vase at Sha Tin in Hong Kong last December.
Despite suffering plenty of mess in the middle stages, the bay horse did a wonderful job to lead inside the final furlong. He kept running strongly to stretch his advantage, grabbing the top prize by ¾ a length.
It was Dunaden’s second victory in the hands of Williams. In the Group 3 Centrebet Geelong Cup, the experienced rider guided the runner to a shocking triumph at Geelong in October last year. It was a surprise win for Dunaden, as he upset the 21-10 favourite,
Tanby, by three quarters of a length.
He has not tasted any success since ending his association with Williams. The Pearl Bloodstock Ltd-owned made three unlucky outings earlier this month. Ridden by Christophe-Patrice Lemaire, he could only secure the runner-up spot behind Sea Moon in the Group
2 Hardwicke Stakes at Ascot last month.
With the regular jockey likely to continue his association with Aga Khan later in the season, Dunaden’s owner, Sheikh Fahad Al Thani, has decided to take the services of Williams, who has already clinched two wins with the same horse.
"Basically, Sheikh Fahad decided that whoever was to ride the horse in the Arc was to ride him in all his races between now and then, which almost definitely ruled out Christophe," racing manager David Redvers told At The Races.
"Craig has won his only two starts on the horse, he knows him well and was prepared to make the sacrifice and commitment to come all the way from Australia to ride the horse whenever he ran. He rode Ortensia at Royal Ascot and Cay Verde for us and spent
a lot of time with Mick Channon and knows the tracks well,” he stated ahead of the Group 1 Royal Ascot challenge.
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