It's not the sort of line you are expecting – unless you are talking to Luke "Stumpy" (he lost half a finger in a racing accident) Williams.

"The first six months in jail were awesome," he would say, even with some hint of enthusiasm.

"After that, it got a bit boring."

And the first thing he did after getting out: "I got me some speed and shot me self up again."

Which is to suggest Williams is some character and with some story to tell. It's been shared a little on his redemption road, a Jericho Cup win and a famous post-race interview for example, but as he told me, "You haven't really heard it all yet."

So there are the chapters on jail, god and religion (no, he didn't find that inside), the drugs, a troublesome upbringing ("I went to 13 different primary schools, reckon I had four or five stepdads, some nice, some not so nice") but mostly – in the end – it comes down to horses and belief, and not surprisingly a fair bit of raw counselling.

"I'm absolutely blessed," he says, and you can sense the addictive nature in how that is expressed in the positive way, and a message joyfully shared.

Stumpy now holds a dual licence, jockey/trainer, and last Wednesday at Murray Bridge he used both to land that first winner – Honour The Skills – a maiden on a heavy 10.

“Yeah awesome I tell ya, good feeling!”

Luke Williams rides & trains a winner for the very first time ???? pic.twitter.com/KFKnGS6XjZ

— Racing.com (@Racing) July 5, 2023

He's 49, been in and out of the game since starting as an apprentice with Peter Healey at Mornington, and now says: "mate I'm only just beginning and I've got a long way to go, things are looking up. I've got some serious carrots being dangled in front of me, if I keep my head screwed on."

And it is that head which is filled with tales that would regale a scriptwriter. "There has been some bad decision making along the way," is how he would surmise it. Read on.

For Williams, it was his mother that introduced him to horses, there was a riding school at Epping and traipsing around the Richmond Flats, Clifton Hill and Carlton before he was 10 that moulded his young life.

It wasn't school, but a palomino he got in grade four, and he was hooked. But it was to be a different kind of hook that would speed bump a career of ambition in the saddle.

"I was a gelati of a kid, went through Jim Marconi and Gary Carson, went down to Tassie and Charlie Goggin, Raymon Goldsmith but eventually it was Grant Dalziel, he was the father figure I never had, we still talk all the time," he said.

"He fine-tuned my skills but he'd say ‘ how can you do this so naturally when you are a drug addict, he'd ask how many cones I'd had before riding work and shake his head."

Stumpy Williams forgot he was talking on live television!

We are rapt for you Stumpy… ???? pic.twitter.com/LvCXKuQbN7

— Racing.com (@Racing) November 29, 2020

Dalziel knows the story too well. "I had Adam Bodey and Mick Barlow with me and I was training for owners who loved a punt. This kid turned up and I couldn't get rid of him.

"He was a natural horseman, not gifted, just had a lovely nature with them, he'd work the babies all day, he'd call me boss, but with the drugs came depression and the wrong side of the street," Dalziel said.

"I remember everything," says Williams without any hint of self-pity or anyone else to blame.

"I was a very strong addict for a lot of years, started with marijuana, then the party drugs by the time I was 20, ecstasy, heroin and speed that engulfed me at the time.

"I remember meeting a card player, an old hippy, I was probably 21 and we were having a few cones and I thought he was talking gelati, I look back now and should have listened to him. It did all happen and that's my life, quite remarkable."

"That's why you see gaps and breaks in my career, for short and long periods, I'd just go off the radar."

“How long have you been riding for?”

“A lot of years bro…”

How good is Stumpy! Congratulations to Luke Williams, who's absolutely ecstatic with the Jericho Cup win. pic.twitter.com/Cnr1o2bl2H

— Racing.com (@Racing) November 29, 2020

None more so than two years in jail for drug offences when he was 28. Just remember that "awesome" line and drop it in here.

"I got on with everybody inside, I was happy, clean and sober, I met new people, it was like a boys camp for men, I'd get along with the Chinese the Koori's, the Ruskies.

"I'd keep fit, trained, walk laps with (now trainer) Frankie Stockdale, did a lot of courses, got a kitchen hands license but eventually got bored."

Remember that getting out and shooting up line now.

"When I got out I married the wrong person and then I realised I needed to get away and get clean and within a month I was."

Renowned for his work with fillies, setting a gelding to tackle one of the country's most-gruelling races is something out of the ordinary for Sydney-based trainer John Sargent.

But such is the significance of the Jericho Cup that Sargent says the decision to enter stayer Bastida in Sunday's 4600-metre feature was a no-brainer.

"For those type of horses it's great, it's a very good concept, the race and what it means is very important, it's got a lot of meaning to it, it's not just another race," Sargent said.

"The main owner of the horse in New Zealand is coming over, his father's brother served in Gallipoli and rode in the light infantry when Bill The Bastard was there, so it's a big thing for him."

Bastida won his way into the race via a dominant six-length demolition of his rivals over 3400m in Canberra's Road to the Jericho race two weeks ago and Sargent says his four-year-old is ready for the near three-mile trek around the 'Bool.

"It's going to be a bit different down there up and down and around corners, but he's in great form, as we saw last start," Sargent said.

"We saw the race as an option a while ago, start before last his saddle slipped here at Randwick, we know he stays, he runs on speed and stays all day and likes it wet or dry, so we said we'd try the Canberra race and after that it was well worth a go.

"He'll keep bowling away, he's a lovely horse, we know he stays and it's a lovely race to have him entered for."

Bastida out stays the rest!@ZRKD aboard for @jsargentracing. pic.twitter.com/gspgbEAILh

— SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) November 13, 2022

A prominent trainer of jumpers back in New Zealand, Sargent says having a runner at the modern-day spiritual home of Australian jumps racing is a special moment.

"I've never had one at Warrnambool, I trained a lot of good jumpers in New Zealand, so I love my jumpers, if we had jumpers here (NSW) I'd be training them - I love them," Sargent said.

"Mick Ormond bred the horse in New Zealand and he races a lot of horses, he's been a breeder for years and this horse is actually well-bred, he said he'll be flying over for it if we are running in it.

"I can't head down, I've got my daughter's wedding actually, so I can't make it!"

Bastida will depart Sydney on Wednesday night alongside stablemate Gin Martini, who is entered for Saturday's Listed Sandown Cup (3200m) at Caulfield.

"She's gone down for that and Craig Williams rides, she should run well in that, it doesn't look overly strong, she runs on speed and I think she'll get the trip too, the two miles," Sargent said.