COMMENT: Dial down the new national sport of bagging Craig Williams

Senior racing writer Ben Dorries has strong views on the growing criticism and hyperbole surrounding champion jockey Craig Williams which bursts out almost every time he doesn’t win a race.

Why has champion jockey Craig Williams become such a target? Picture: Racing Photos

Cricket, rugby league and AFL are Australia’s popular national sports and you can now add bagging champion jockey Craig Williams to the list.

In these crazy days of social media where everyone has an opinion – but many are worth a pie and sauce – it has become fashionable to ridicule one of the greatest Australian jockeys of all-time.

Williams has collected racing’s Grand Slam among 76 Group 1 wins, but he has somehow now become a public punching bag and a lightning rod for criticism at every opportunity.

Every time Williams rides a favourite and it doesn’t get the chocolates, the cries of “it was Willowed” echo out across the land.

But many of Australia’s other top jockeys seem to largely escape such intense scrutiny.

When was the last time you heard someone say a horse was “J-Mac’d” or “Zahra’d or Orman’d?”

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McDonald did cop flak for his beaten Group 1 Verry Elleegant Stakes ride on Fangirl, but just close your eyes and imagine for a second that it was Williams riding in the cerise silks that day.

He would have been hung, drawn and quartered and maybe copped a public flogging in the town square as well.

For whatever reason, Williams draws headlines for beaten rides like no other jockey.

Most recently, it was when Mr Brightside went down in the All-Star Mile.

But what the hell was Williams meant to do – put on a superman cape and literally fly Mr Brightside over the rest of the field?

Why has Craig Williams become a lightning rod for criticism just about every time he doesn’t win a race? Picture: Getty Images

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Astute form and ratings expert Daniel O’Sullivan summed things up perfectly in an extensive tweet, which in part read: “In a speed rating sense, he (Mr Brightside) travelled faster than ever in his career to the 600m mark. He wasn’t poorly ‘paced’ by Craig Williams. Quite the opposite.”

O’Sullivan noted that Mr Brightside was beaten on merits, simply because Pride Of Jenni was too good on the day and it was nothing to do with Williams’ ride.

Yet none of this stopped the armchair experts – many of whom had probably done their hard-earned backing Mr Brightside – from hopping into Williams like he had committed one of the seven deadly sins.

A speed-based perspective on why Mr Brightside was beaten on Saturday because he couldn't match Pride Of Jenni's performance, not because of Craig William's ride.

*⃣ In a speed rating sense, he travelled faster than ever in his career to the 600m mark. He wasn't poorly "paced"… https://t.co/6LA6zeM9CH

— Daniel O'Sullivan (@TRBHorseRacing) March 18, 2024

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It also caused connections to have a strong debate before settling the matter via a vote and announcing Williams would retain the ride for the Australian Cup.

But it’s a head-scratcher to believe it even got to that point, given Williams has ridden Mr Brightside in 28 of the star horse’s 32 runs and the jockey had won six Groups 1s and the 2023 All-Star Mile on the Lindsay Park galloper.

Owners pay the bills and have the right to do what they want.

Williams’ ride on Giga Kick last spring – which subsequently saw him sacked – wasn’t one of his best and most of the commentary was fair.

But the intense and crazy focus on Williams is now beyond the pale.

Craig Williams. Picture: David Geraghty

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He is one of racing’s good guys, regularly signing autographs and posing for pictures with racing’s next generation fans while plenty of other jockeys stand like statues and don’t engage.

His dangerous trips to war-torn Ukraine for humanitarian missions speak volumes of his character.

And his post-race winning speeches, while often long, go out of the way to thank owners, sponsors and some of the lesser-known people who make racing tick.

In short, Williams is a champion on and off the track.

I’m all for reasoned criticism, fair commentary and strong debate.

But let’s dial down the rampant criticism and hyperbole which now seems to shadow Williams almost every time he doesn’t win a race.

Originally published as COMMENT: Dial down the new national sport of bagging Craig Williams