Bill Williamson

(1922 - 1979) - Inducted in 2003<br> 

Bill Williamson enjoyed enormous success in Australia and abroad in the post war years.

Williamson rode his first winner as an apprentice in 1937, but it was not until he was discharged from the army in 1943 that his career gathered pace. Much of his early success came from his association with trainer Lou Robertson, and later in the 1950s, Fred Hoysted. His greatest success came in the 1952 Melbourne Cup when he rode Dalray to victory. He twice won the Caulfield Cup, and recorded wins in the W.S. Cox Plate and Australian, Williamstown, Moonee Valley, Brisbane and Adelaide Cups. Six times he won the Melbourne jockeys' premiership.

From 1960 until his retirement in 1973, Williamson rode with great distinction in Ireland, England and France, winning 13 classic races: 8 in Ireland, 2 in England and 3 in Europe. In 1968 and 1969 he rode successive winners of the Prix de L'Arc de Triomphe, on each occasion beating mounts ridden by Lester Piggot – which prompted Piggot to call him ‘the best big-race jockey in the world'.

Williamson was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2003.

Image Source: Australian Racing Museum Collection