Williams lays down the law

LLOYD Williams – who has won three Melbourne Cups, an Adelaide Cup and the past four Sandown Classics with veteran galloper Zipping – landed his first Greater Dandenong Cup when imported gelding Martial Law scored at Sandown last Sunday.
Williams, wife Sue and son Nick own Martial Law with a group including music entrepreneur, Michael Gudinski.
The unique trophies for the Greater Dandenong Cup, presented to the owner, trainer and jockey, were handmade by former Heatherhill Secondary College teacher Peter Adams. They were crafted from Western Australian jarrah burl on a red gum base.
Perfectly ridden by apprentice Jack Hill, Martial Law was having his third run back from a spell and his sixth run in Australia after doing his early racing in France.
Martial Law came home with a strong effort to score impressively by a neck from Fabriano with one-and-three-quarter lengths to Tully Prince. Fabriano was ridden by Darren Gauci, who won the 2010 Greater Dandenong Cup on the Tasmanian trained Forbidden Quest.
Martial Law – who is likely to be set for the Caulfield and Melbourne cups – has raced 15 times for three wins, a second and three thirds and $120,464 in prize-money.
The five-year-old is a son of leading Irish stallion Galileo from the British mare Tree Tops, a daughter of the American stallion Grand Lodge.
The Williams family also won with Resetable, who scored his second win from just three starts. The Robert Hickmott trained galloper was ridden by Hill.
“The day has been another great success and we look forward to building on it,” Robert Downing, president of the Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the organising committee, said.