Paddy casts long shadow on cup field

It is a long journey to and from Ascot, but devoted Collie-based trainer Raquel Williams always takes the task in her stride. Especially when one of her runners like Paddy’s Shadow runs a brilliant race. Williams’ mare came from the midfield to finish third to Last Of The Line in last Saturday’s $100,000 Detonator Stakes (1800m), which has ensured she remains on track for a spot in the $120,000 Furphy Bunbury Cup on March 6. “I was quite happy with her and she is where she has got to be leading into the Bunbury Cup,” Williams said. “Saturday’s race was the only one we could sort of go in. “Obviously she is a fair way out of her class with some of those horses but she performed really well.” Paddy’s Shadow has been solid this season, placing in five of her 11 starts, along with a seventh-placed finish in the 2021 Perth Cup, much to the delight of her trainer. At home, Williams loves her six-year-old’s work ethic, though she knows when to give her some time alone in the paddock. “She likes to be on her own,” Williams said. “She is not that fussed if other horses are there or not, but she is pretty cruisy. “She was a handful when I had her as a young horse, but she has really chilled out and mellowed. “However, she is a real competitor and does not like lying down — and the day she goes no good, she has usually had enough.” Due to the small nature of her stable, Williams is able to spend extensive time with all of her horses in work, which has enhanced her knack for intuitively understanding how her horses are feeling. “I have four in work at the minute,” she said. “I do it all myself — ride them and do all of the trackwork. Sometimes I do a couple of trips to Bunbury to work them in pairs and gallop them on the grass.”