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Evan Williams on Cheltenham winner Coole Cody, Welsh National hope Secret Reprieve and daughter jockey Isabel Williams
The Evan Williams yard has been a shade slower to get going this season than is often the case.
For context, Williams saddled 110 runners in the months of October and November combined this year, compared to 136 for the same period in 2020, and 162 in 2019.
Williams himself puts that down to the weather, specifically the prolonged dry spell which has been causing headaches for National Hunt trainers all over Britain. Williams, at his base in the heart of the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales, has a whole bunch of horses still waiting to make their first appearances of the season, including a certain Welsh National winner for whom the trainer would have dearly loved a prep run before returning to Chepstow later this month.
More on that assignment shortly, but there is so much else to discuss before then. November may not have been as frenetic for Williams as in previous years – at least in terms of the number of runners – but it was still a month which encapsulated the highs and lows of National Hunt racing for all those connected to the yard.
Crucially for Williams, one of last month’s biggest disappointments can now be consigned to the history books. That’s because Coole Cody – a faller two out when seemingly booked for second at worst in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at the November Meeting – made amends with a trademark performance from the front to win the Racing Post Gold Cup back at Cheltenham on Saturday, showcasing all the attributes which set him apart from his rivals in the eyes of his trainer.
“This old job will frustrate you at the best of times," Williams admits when recalling Coole Cody’s late fall in the Paddy Power. "But as long as you can go again, that’s the main thing in this game.
"I hoped that he would be able to go and run well on Saturday, but I’m always a bit more concerned on that track because I don’t think it suits him as well as the Old Course.
"It was just a very nice performance and we were delighted with the old boy.
"His toughness is probably everything that makes him a good racehorse. That’s what defines him is that grit and determination. Some horses have it and a lot of horses don’t – there are better horses who probably just buckle when they hit that hill. When Coole Cody hits the bottom of that hill, he goes and gets stuck in."
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Get stuck in is what Coole Cody did on Saturday and he assured his own place in the history books by winning the Racing Post Gold Cup, supplementing his victory in the 2020 edition of the Paddy Power. In so doing, he became the ninth individual horse to have won both races and the first since Exotic Dancer who, unlike Coole Cody, completed the double in the same year in 2006.
Still, it’s no mean feat and one of which Williams is understandably very proud, particularly given the competitiveness of the racing in general at Cheltenham.
“We don’t take these things for granted," Williams stresses. "They’re very iconic races and they’re very, very difficult to win. We are tremendously appreciative of just having horses good enough to go to Cheltenham. Winning them does mean an awful lot to us, it definitely does."
Daughter Isabel and a memorable day at Haydock
If there is one success which has meant more to Williams in recent weeks, then it is almost certainly that of Dans le Vent in the Grade Three Betfair Exchange Stayers’ Handicap Hurdle at Haydock last month, that coming just seven days after Coole Cody’s fall in the Paddy Power.
To say that it was a welcome tonic for Williams would miss the point somewhat. Rather, it was a hugely poignant occasion for the trainer whatever the timing of it, chiefly because it gave daughter Isabel the biggest success of her burgeoning career in the saddle.
“That hit me sideways, it really, really did,” Williams concedes. "We’ve been very lucky to win plenty of good races, but that one really did hit me sideways.
"I think it was probably because Isabel has had so much of an input with the horse in his training and it was her idea to go for the race. It was very emotional knowing the input that she’d had and to carry out what she wanted to do gave us a lot of satisfaction.
"It just hit me as a father – that was the truth of it."
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Williams, both as a father and in his training career, has seen first hand the challenges faced by Isabel and other aspiring jockeys. Isabel herself has now ridden a total of 32 winners under Rules in Britain, including that Haydock triumph on Dans le Vent, a brilliantly executed ride for which she received high praise on ITV Racing from none other than A.P. McCoy.
That success not only served to highlight the progress Isabel has made over the last couple of seasons, but it was also due reward for all the hard work which had gone before it.
"It’s very tough for any of these youngsters starting out," Williams senior points out. “It’s especially tough because you do get exposed against the top professionals – they are that good. From being an amateur to being a claiming jockey against professionals, you’ve got to improve.
"We’ve got a long way to go, but we have come an awful long way and again that’s why I think it meant so much at Haydock. It showed that on the right day, on the right horse, then we can mix it with the best of them."
Dans le Vent is entered in the Grade One Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot on Saturday, though he is said to be an unlikely runner unless the race cuts up, with a decision due later in the week. Should he miss the Long Walk, then the Grade Two Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day could come into the equation.
Either way, Dans le Vent seems destined for a step up in class according to Williams – “the alternative is carrying a lot more weight in handicaps and he’s not a big horse” – which raises the question of who will ride him given that Isabel isn’t allowed to utilise her claim in Graded races. When asked whether she would keep the mount in a race such as the Long Walk, Williams senior responds in emphatic fashion.
“100%,” he confirms. “Many thanks must go to Mr. Gambarini [owner], who said as far as he’s concerned Isabel rides. It’s fantastic to get an endorsement from an owner like that and it’s fantastic when a claiming jockey gets the opportunity to ride in any Grade One."
Downcast on hopes of a Welsh National double
The participation of Dans le Vent on Saturday might be in doubt, but Williams will still be represented at Ascot on Saturday by Mack The Man, who the trainer is hopeful can be “very competitive” in the Grade Three Betfair Exchange Trophy.
Mack The Man carries the colours of William and Angela Rucker, perhaps the biggest supporters of the Williams yard over the years. Those owners have a busy time of things coming up as their promising young chasers Fado des Brosses and No Rematch – two horses Williams is “desperate” to run weather permitting – both hold entries later this week before attentions then turn to Chepstow and the bid for history with Secret Reprieve.
In the ante-post betting for the Welsh National, Secret Reprieve is challenging for favouritism with Ask Me Early and Highland Hunter as he attempts to become the first back-to-back winner of the festive showpiece since Bonanza Boy in 1988 and 1989.
It’s not hard to see why. After all, Secret Reprieve is only 6 lb higher in the weights than when winning so impressively last year and there must be a good chance that he hasn’t finished improving yet, still just a seven-year-old with relatively few miles on the clock. What is there not to like?
Well, apparently quite a lot according to Williams, who is keen to stress that it was never the plan to go straight to Chepstow. Of course, it’s not uncommon for a trainer to try and downplay expectations when saddling a favourite for a big race, but Williams seems clear in his mind that Secret Reprieve will improve for the run, very much giving impression that the Welsh National is far from the be-all and end-all this year.
“I would dearly have loved to get a prep run under his belt, but it hasn’t happened,” Williams explains. “The worst thing I could have done is run him for the sake of it on ground which would have been far quicker than ideal.
“I don’t want people to think that we’ve gone having 10 racecourse gallops or anything, getting him revved up for the Welsh National, because it hasn’t panned out that way this year.
“We’re just hoping for a nice first run and we’d be very stupid to look at it any other way. It will be very tough at the end of the day, but we can use it as a springboard to go forward for the rest of the year – there’s plenty of good races after the Welsh National."
Williams enjoys a moment to reflect on the memorable afternoon Secret Reprieve gave the whole team when successful at Chepstow last year. However, it doesn’t last long before his gloomy outlook ahead of the 2021 edition returns, once again highlighting the many challenges standing between Secret Reprieve and the defence of his crown.
“The statistics are against us and the weather has been against us – we’ve got everything against us,” Williams summarises. “Let’s just remember that we had a wonderful day there last year. It meant an awful lot to us as a yard and lightning doesn’t seem to strike twice in such instances.
“The Welsh National, fingers crossed, will be where we end up, but I would have to miss the race if it was staying dry for the next couple of weeks. It’s been one of those years and that’s the way it is – that’s life."
Life. It can be unpredictable and a rollercoaster of emotions, particularly when your profession is that of a National Hunt trainer. After the last few weeks, Williams should know that as well as anyone.
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