Who will Willo ride?

Craig Williams still has a couple of Melbourne Cup options in front of him.

The 2019 winner aboard Vow And Declare was booked on early Cup favourite Sir Delius but after that horse was scratched from the spring he has been forced to look elsewhere.

“Two weeks ago when Sir Delius didn’t meet the criteria to be suitable to race in the Spring Carnival it was really devastating,” Williams admitted on SENTrack & RSN’s Giddy Up.

“But for me I was lucky. I remember getting a message from Gai (Waterhouse), ‘Craig, you’re going to have to find a ride in the Cox Plate and the Melbourne Cup now. But the horse is ok which is the most important thing’.”

Just a week out from next Tuesday’s 3200m classic at Flemington, Williams could find himself on Buckaroo who was so close to claiming the Cox Plate last Saturday.

Chris Waller suggested on Monday that Buckaroo would take his place in the race that stops a nation and if that happens to be the case, Williams will more than likely take the ride.

“He’s definitely got the class, there’s no doubt,” Williams said.

“Not probably - he has the best form in the race - and now goes to a handicap over two miles.

“He’s definitely a really good horse. There’s no doubt Buckaroo is the best credentialed horse in the race.”

Buckaroo was ridden by Joao Moreira in last year’s Cup, finishing ninth after starting as the $6 favourite.

He has had a strong preparation without winning having run third in the Group 1 Memsie (1400m), second to Sir Delius in the G1 Underwood (1800m), third in the G1 Might And Power (2000m) and runner-up in the Cox Plate (2040m) behind Via Sistina.

A decision will be made on Buckaroo in the coming days.

Also in the mix for Williams is Birdman, owned by Ozzie Kheir, John O’Neill and co. - the same group in Buckaroo.

“Birdman’s in great form. I couldn’t be more glowing about the way that he felt, the way he moved, the way he was today,” Williams said.

“He’s also a horse that needs a similar mentality in regards to riding instructions, thought processes, planning going into him running in the Melbourne Cup.

“He’s also going really well and does come back to a handicap.”

‘Willo’ admits he did chase a few Cup rides after the Caulfield Cup but ultimately missed out.

Could this give punters some sort of guide as to which horses to follow?

“I chased the French horse (Presage Nocturne) after the Caulfield Cup but they’re keeping the same jockey on (Stephane Pasquier),” the gun hoop said further.

“I chased the English horse Meydaan because I thought Flemington might suit.

“I thought Ozzie Kheir’s other horse that Jye McNeil was successful on (in the Bart Cummings), Valiant King, was good.

“The winner (Half Yours) was good but he gets a two kilo penalty - I’m not questioning that because the handicapper usually does his job really well.”

Williams rode Onesmoothoperator in last year's Cup following his dominant Geelong Cup triumph, but he won't be with the Brian Ellison raider this time around.

He says jockeys sometimes begin their Cup search almost 12 months out.

“Onesmoothoperator who I rode last year. Remembering that when he turned up he didn’t pass two of the vets until the last vet. He was not in the same form as when he won the Geelong Cup, and he was still only beaten four and a bit lengths.

“That’s what we start looking at to try and find the next one (a year out).”

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