Williams stable on the hunt for fifth Railway Stakes win
Perth’s premier training partnership Grant and Alana Williams will roll out a strong hand in Saturday’s Railway Stakes (Gr 1, 1600m) at Ascot as they look to extend their remarkable record in Western Australia’s flagship mile contest.
Grant Williams first won the race with Elite Belle (Canny Lad) in 2014, while the husband-and-wife team dominated between 2018 and 2021, producing four consecutive winners in Galaxy Star (Redoute’s Choice), Regal Power (Pierro), Inspirational Girl (Reliable Man) and Western Empire (Iffraaj).
Western Empire returns for this year’s edition and shapes as a major player after attacking the line late to finish fifth in the Lee Steere Stakes (Gr 2, 1400m) last start. The eight-year-old has drawn the inside gate, with Billy Egan heading west for the ride.
“I reckon we’ve probably got him going as good as we’ve ever had him going, to be honest, and I thought his first up run was great,” Grant Williams told ANZ News.
“It was a pretty hard track bias that day, so we definitely weren’t going to go forward because we drew wide, so we had to ride him just one way and cop our medicine. But his sectionals and his run home time was fantastic. It was a perfect lead up, we are very happy with where he’s at.”
Williams believes Western Empire is well treated under the handicap conditions.
“I think he’s got in pretty good this year with the 58kg and the weight scales. There’s only one horse on 53. Super Smink is on 56 – that’s what she’d carry in a weight-for-age race against him. So I think he’s got into it really good, and he wouldn’t have carried 58 since he was a maiden, I wouldn’t have thought.
“From barrier one we just have to ride for luck. Billy’s a gun, so that’s the only instructions I’ll be giving him.”
Stablemate Watch Me Rock (Awesome Rock) heads the market at $3.60 and brings an imposing record of ten wins from 18 starts, including a last-start victory in the Asian Beau Stakes (Gr 3, 1400m) on November 1.
The gelding, by Gold Front Thoroughbred Breeding and Racing stallion Awesome Rock (Fastnet Rock), will jump from barrier four under leading rider William Pike.
“I couldn’t be happier with him,” Williams said. “I think he’s peaking at the right time. The stables crew have done a great job getting him here. He’s nice and healthy. He’s got a great jockey, he’s got a great barrier, and he’s got winning form, so we’re pretty happy with where he’s at.
“He’s a winner, his record says that, and I’ve got no negatives with him. I reckon he’s on the way up. He’ll win some nice races in his career and hopefully Saturday is the first.”
Four-year-old mare Storyville (Overshare) completes the primary trio, arriving off a determined victory in the R.J. Peters Stakes (Gr 3, 1500m) on November 15. She will start from barrier 14 (ten after emergencies), with Fred Kersley returning home to Western Australia to chase his first Group 1 win.
“It would have been great if she probably drew in a little bit closer, but in saying that out of the three runners, it’s probably the one where I was happy with,” Williams said.
“She’s probably going to jump from barrier 10. She’s going to get the room that she’s needed. I reckon she’s probably as good as we’ve ever had her. She drew barrier one last start, and it was against her to win from there because she had to quicken really fast off a slow tempo, and she still won. So she’s pulled up good from that run. She looks fantastic. She’ll need a little bit of luck, but she’s definitely good enough.”
Storyville carries added sentimental value as a homebred raced by the Williams family.
“Alana bred her, I can’t take the credit for that. That’s her baby. She’s actually doing okay at the breeding caper, so it would be a huge thing for her to at least be placed tomorrow. We’ve got her half-sister by Toronado going through the Easter sale, so that would be a huge tick.”
Emergencies Hemlockstone (Delghar) and Yonga Lass (Universal Ruler) round out the stable’s Railway acceptors.
Of Hemlockstone, Williams said: “He’s probably looking for further at the moment, he’ll head to a Perth Cup, or he’ll head to the Northerly Stakes and the Ted Van Heemst going through.”
On Yonga Lass, he added: “We were always aimed up at this race. She ran second in the Kalgoorlie race and just didn’t get enough points to get through. She’s obviously the second emergency, but that’s okay – she’s probably just under these guys. If she had Willie Pike riding, he seems to be able to get the best out of her, she would have been a good chance, but she doesn’t look like getting a run. I think she’ll be a good chance in the [Carbine Club of W.A. Stakes].”
Asked to split his runners, Williams said: “I actually think it’s hard to split Watch Me Rock and Western Empire, but geez, it’s gonna take a good horse to beat Western Empire.”
The Williams stable currently leads both the Western Australian general and metropolitan trainers’ premierships, and with strong interstate support for the carnival, Williams believes the local industry is trending upwards.
“We’ve obviously got a few issues that we’re trying to work through at the moment, but the racing itself is really good,” he said.
“It’s as strong and as even as we’ve had it for a few years. The quality of three-year-olds coming through, which you can see in the Guineas, there’s some superstars down the track there. We’re in a pretty good spot. We just need to fix a few things on the outside of that.”