Craig Williams has had a run of near misses on Silent Sedition in the elite races, but he believes everything has fallen into place for the mare on the eve of her run in the $1million Coolmore Legacy Stakes at Randwick on Saturday.
Silent Sedition is likely on her final racing campaign before starting life as a broodmare next spring and Williams said he thought the 1600m race presented as an ideal chance for the mare to once again show her class and in doing so, make up for some unlucky near misses for the rider in Group 1 races.
Williams finished second on Silent Sedition in the Australasian Oaks in Adelaide as a three-year-old before narrow misses in the Coolmore Stud Stakes and Queen Of The Turf (Coolmore Legacy) in Sydney over the past few seasons.
“This is a very competitive group 1 mares’ race – the best mares at a mile in the country are in the race and she is one of the best chances,” Williams said.
“Her best form is in the autumn and I know her trainer Andrew Noblet is just rapt with her so I go into the race knowing she should be in the finish.
“It would be fantastic to be able to win a Group 1 on her as we’ve gone close a few times.”
Silent Sedition is not Williams’ only attempt on a Group 1. He rides the Japanese horse Ambitious in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes – a race which he would look ideally suited if it wasn’t for the presence of the great mare Winx.
Williams said he expected Ambitious will make into a real force next season but said that he had the capacity to at least test Winx.
“I know what a quality of animal he is on his form from Japan and I think that we won’t see the best of that until he acclimatises in the spring, but the way he went the other day (second in Tancred), I am looking forward to the challenge,” the jockey said.
“There’s no doubt we need Winx not to be at her best for anyone to beat her because she should be the highest rated horse in the world over 10 furlongs.
“He’s a typical Japanese to a tee. Anthony’s (Freedman, the trainer) done a really good job managing him and when he acclimatises, they are going to have a lot of fun with him.”
Williams will also partner the import Lord Fandango in the $2million Sydney Cup and the jockey said the horse appealed in the handicap as he was dropping substantially in weight and rising to a more suitable distance.
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