By Glenn Davis
Hobby country trainer Raymond Williams is hopeful of winning his David and Goliath challenge against city slicker Tony Gollan in the Cannonball Series Final at Kilcoy on Saturday.
Gollan, winner of six Brisbane trainers’ premierships, made a rare visit to Gatton to win a heat of the Cannonball Series with Godfather’s Girl on November 21.
Godfather’s Girl proved too strong for the Williams-trained Boot Shaker but the former jockey who is based in Emerald believes his veteran sprinter has taken great improvement from the clash.
“I was a bit surprised when Tony (Gollan) came out to Gatton with Godfather’s Girl but I suppose you place a horse where you think it can win,” Williams said.
“Boot Shaker has improved a lot since he was beaten by Godfather’s Girl and she’s still our biggest danger again.
“My bloke was having his first run in nine months and he pulled up well.
“He goes back to 800 metres for the Final which will suits him a lot better.”
Boot Shaker is not showing any signs of wear and tear for a 10-year-old who has started only 45 times for eight wins.
“He’s won eight races and seven of them have been over 800 metres,” Williams said.
“He tried to lead last time but he couldn’t cross Godfather’s Girl.
“He runs around and gets a bit lost if he doesn’t find the fence.”
Williams was a former jockey before increasing weight forced him to quit and has only been training since the start of the year.
Boot Shaker is part-owned by Williams and his partner Tracey Leake, who previously trained the gelding for three seconds from five starts before work commitments forced her to give training away.
Williams, who works fulltime in the local mine, struck immediate success when Boot Shaker won over 800 metres at Thangool in February.
“Tracey trained him for a few starts before she had to give it away because of her work and he won his first start for me at Thangool,” he said.
“He might be a ten-year-old but he’s sound as a bell and has legs of steel.”
Racing Queensland webnews November 29