LEADING bush trainer Danny Williams is relying on sheer weight of numbers to dominate the $ 150,000 Country Championships Qualifier (1400m) at Goulburn on Saturday.
In a remarkable feat, Williams will saddle-up nine of the 16 starters in the feature race, plus he has one of the emergencies.
Just a week after trainer Jenny Graham’s historic achievement to prepare the Country Championships Qualifier trifecta with Victorem, Awesome Pluck and Portatorio at Port Macquarie, Williams is heavily favoured to at least equal her record in the Goulburn heat.
ANALYSIS: SATURDAY BEST WITH RAY & DUFF
THE SELECTIONS: WEEKEND BEST BETS
RACE WATCH: DAVO’S TIPS FOR ROSEHILL
Team Williams is led by boom sprinter Don’t Give A Damn, the $ 1.60 favourite with TAB Fixed Odds. The next four in betting are also from the Williams stable with Kopi Luwak ($ 5.50), Acquittal ($ 11), Chewbacca ($ 15) and Pumpkin Pie ($ 15).
The trainer’s other runners are Biodynamic ($ 34), Volpe ($ 34), Mister Marmalade ($ 41), O’Lordy ($ 101) and emergency El Mo ($ 41).
Trainers have been planning for the Country Championships series for months and for Williams to secure nine runners in the Goulburn heat is an extraordinary effort.
“This is the first time I have had nine runners in a race,’’ Williams said.
“It is a big thing just to get a horse qualified for the race. To have so many runners is not easy but it is good for my owners.’’
Williams was reluctant to rate his runners in the Goulburn heat but conceded the bookies have it right with Don’t Give A Damn, Kopi Luwak, Acquittal and Chewbacca at the top of betting.
Don’t Give A Damn has won four of his five starts — his only defeat came at his second start when narrowly beaten by another boom bush sprinter, Suncraze — including a stunning return to racing at Rosehill Gardens on February 3 when he ran his rivals ragged to win over 1300m.
Williams, who has such a high regard for Don’t Give A Damn, is considering a possible Doncaster Mile preparation and believes the chestnut has the early speed to negate his wide barrier on Saturday.
“There is a lot of speed drawn out wide,’’ Williams said. “So, I don’t think the barrier is a problem as Don’t Give A Damn has enough speed to cross these horses.’’
Williams said Don’t Give A Damn, who is the $ 2.90 favourite to win the Country Championships Final at Royal Randwick on April 7, had improved considerably since his Rosehill win.
“Don’t Give A Damn was vulnerable that day as he had not had an official trial going into that race,’’ Williams said. “He has definitely come on since that run, it has really toughened him and tuned him up.
“We do have a big agenda for this horse during the autumn and I’ve left a fair bit in the tank. “He might still be a bit fresh but his class should prevail.’’
Kopi Luwak and Chewbacca are inexperienced gallopers with just three race starts, the former being plagued by injuries early in his career while the latter is a three-year-old still learning his trade.
“I would say Kopi Luwak and Chewbacca are great chances,’’ Williams said. “Kopi Luwak will appreciate Goulburn. He gets back in his races but with the speed on, he will get the chance to hit the line. Chewbacca is way up with there in ability but mentally not there yet. He was very good first-up and he is much fitter now. He’s a promising young horse.’’
Williams also has a good opinion of Acquittal, who defeated Kopi Luwak in a TAB Highway at Randwick two starts back before his second to Mate Story in a Rosehill Highway.
“Acquittal is such a big striding horse I don’t think he liked the soft track last start and he may not have run the 1500m right out,’’ the trainer said.
“The race did take a fair bit out of him but we have worked hard on him over the last three weeks and we are happy with him going into the race.’’
Biodynamic is a former European galloper making his Australian debut. He has only won a maiden in his six starts to date but was considered promising enough to run in the 2016 English Derby, finishing well down the track.
“I would say Biodynamic probably needs 2000m,’’ Williams said. “But this looked a logical race to start him off in as it is set weights.’’
Volpe comes off a ninth in a Warwick Farm Highway with Williams revealing jockey Blake Shinn said the gelding had no luck and should have finished top three.
Williams said Mister Marmalade would also appreciate getting back onto a firm track while the trainer is adamant Pumpkin Pie, last year’s Goulburn Country Championships heat winner, is capable of running a much improved race today.
O’Lordy is one of the rank outsiders with Williams believing the mare can respond better if ridden more conservatively early, while El Mo is described as a nervous horse with potential.
Meantime, Most Exalted is the $ 2.80 favourite to win the Country Championships Qualifier at Mudgee on Sunday, with Schedule the $ 4.60 second favourite.
“One punter has placed $ 1,000 on Schedule at $ 51 to win the Country Championships Final on at Royal Randwick on April 7, with the Mudgee based gelding now into $ 26,” TAB’s Glenn Munsie said.
