Ian Williams

The headline moments came in a remarkable five-day spell in April 2022, when Williams landed two of the biggest prizes in British racing back to back — a top-level race at Aintree, followed almost immediately by another at Cheltenham. Those two venues are the cathedrals of the sport, the places every trainer wants their name called out. To win at both within a week, in only his first full year with a licence, announced Williams as someone serious about competing at the very highest level.

Away from the big occasions, there is a telling detail at Ffos Las, the Welsh track tucked away near Llanelli. Four winners from just six runners there — that is a two-thirds success rate, which in racing is almost unheard of. Most trainers would be delighted with one winner in three. It suggests Williams either targets the track with particular care, or simply that his horses travel well and arrive ready to run.

The partnership with jockey Ryan Kavanagh tells its own story. Across 129 rides together, they have combined for 19 wins — 15%, or roughly 3 in every 20. That is a working relationship built on repetition and trust, the kind of combination that becomes more effective the longer it continues. When Kavanagh climbs aboard a Williams-trained horse, there is a reasonable expectation something interesting is about to happen.

Then there is Moyowasi — three wins from six races together, which is a remarkable ratio by any standard. Half the time that horse and this yard line up together, they win. That sort of record with a specific horse is the kind of thing that quietly builds a yard's reputation, one winning photograph at a time.