Champion jockey Craig Williams can see several similarities between his 2006 Cox Plate winner Fields Of Omagh and his ride this year, Humidor.
Champion jockey Craig Williams can see several similarities between his 2006 Cox Plate winner Fields Of Omagh and his ride this year, Humidor.
Craig Williams compared Cox Plate veteran Humidor to another horse he had success on in the same race, Fields Of Omagh, saying both horses shared a love of the Moonee Valley track.
Williams declared Humidor ready for Saturday’s Cox Plate after his impressive work at The Valley on Tuesday morning and said he profiled similarly to Fields Of Omagh when he won the 2006 renewal.
“Humidor has been going really well through his preparation and is on target for this year’s Cox Plate,” Williams said.
“I can just feel how well he moves around the track and how well he knows this place.”
Williams won the 2006 Cox Plate on Fields Of Omagh when the horse was a nine-year-old.
It was Fields Of Omagh’s second win in the feature and the fourth time he had contested the race.
Williams pointed out that at eight, Humidor is a year younger than Fields Of Omagh was when he won.
Humidor will be having his third run in a Cox Plate and boasts a second and third in the race behind Winx, in 2017 and 2018 respectively.
Williams said that like Fields Of Omagh, Humidor had an affiliation with the Moonee Valley track where he has a win and two placings from four starts.
Williams has ridden Humidor at his past two starts for a second in the Underwood Stakes and a third in the Caulfield Stakes.
When the jockey won the 2006 Cox Plate on Fields Of Omagh he was also having his third ride on that horse.
Williams said Humidor towed him around the course at Tuesday’s Breakfast with the Best trackwork session and he had to fight to get him to conserve his energy.
“He was determined to get out there and strut his stuff this morning,” Williams said.
“It gives me confidence and I can smile about how well this horse is going. He loves to bring his ‘A’ game to Moonee Valley.
“His recent runs have been good and solid but he’s got a little bit more up his sleeve that he saves up for here. I’m really looking forward to his performance come the race on Saturday.”