It’s been far from easy for him but the Dubbo-based apprentice is now turning some heads after a number of fine performances in the saddle.

25-year-old Williams, apprenticed to Peter Nestor, scored another high profile win on Sunday when guiding Zarhron to his third straight Japan Cowra Cup victory.

At the calcutta a night earlier, renowned local racecaller Col Hodges described Williams as one of the region’s most exciting prospects in some time.

But despite all the recent success Williams isn’t getting carried away, with the difficult road he’s taken keeping him grounded.

“It took awhile to get where I am,” he said.

“Most people had someone, maybe in their family, who was in racing where I didn’t have anyone. I started from scratch and have had to do all the hard yards.

“I always wanted to (be a jockey), mainly because of my size and watching the Melbourne Cup, it’s so big and I’d be watching it thinking it’d be cool to do.”

After focusing on other sports while growing up, Williams turned his attention to racing when he was roughly 21.

A trial with Anthony Cummings in Sydney got him started but with no real connections he was advised to make the move to the bush, get a name for himself, and then earn the right to return to the Sydney tracks.

He made the move to the Dubbo and linked up with Nestor but that wasn’t the end of the tough times.

“Just injuries,” he said when talking about his setbacks.

“And they weren’t race related. I had a footy injury and then had a car crash.

“I did my ACL in my knee and had a bit of drama there so that kept me out for about nine months.”

After such a long time out, Williams was then required to ride in 20 trials before he could compete in a race.

With most country meetings only hosting one or two trials, it took about another six months before he could finally make his professional debut.

In August of this year Williams finally made his competitive debut at the small northern NSW town at Carinda. It was worth the wait as the apprentice won in just his third race, guiding Lindsey Kennedy’s Watta General to victory.

From there the good times have continued to roll. Williams rode four winners, include the Cup feature event, at one meeting at Brewarrina in November while he had also placed in the Mudgee’s Showcase Sprint and Sunday’s other feature, the Cowra Cup.

“It’s all a bit more than I expected and getting more support than I thought,” he said, before saying he is determined to stay focused and achieve his dream of returning to the big stage at Sydney.

“The boss (Nestor) keeps me grounded and tells me to do that hard work and don’t get caught up in the hype and lose focus.

“And in racing you can ride a winner and do things right but then in the next race you might make a mistake or two and it brings you right back to earth.”

Williams is expected to have a number of rides at Wellington on Sunday. Another ride on Andrew Molloy’s Zarhron at Bathurst’s Showcase meeting on January 27 is also a chance.