Cath Williams Has Cheltenham Festival Win After Taking Over Husband Evan’s License Following Guilty Verdict
Last week, with the clock ticking down to the 2026 Cheltenham Festival, most National Hunt trainers were making the final adjustments to their Prestbury Park plans. Not all, however. Down in Wales, Evan Williams found himself anxiously awaiting the jury’s decision at Cardiff Crown Court.
Unfortunately for Williams, the verdict was not the one he would have hoped for. Following one hour and 45 minutes of deliberation, the 54-year-old was found guilty of an assault which left the victim battered, bruised, and with a double fracture to his left arm. Williams now faces the prospect of jail time at his sentencing hearing on 14 April.
Poaching Confusion Provokes Attack
The fateful incident occurred on the evening of 4 December 2024 at the Williams stables in Llancarfan on the outskirts of Cardiff. The victim of this assault, a 72-year-old pensioner by the name of Martin Dandridge, was renting a cottage in the local area at the time and had taken his daughter’s cockapoo Gulliver for his evening stroll.
Due to the lateness of the hour, Dandridge was wearing a headlamp while Gulliver’s collar was also illuminated. Venturing onto Williams’ land, these lights caught the attention of the trainer’s daughter, Isabel, who lives on the site. Troubled by the disturbance, Isabel contacted her father to report a bright flashing light on the gallops.
Following a series of previous incidents on his land, Williams was concerned that the lights might be related to a poaching activity known as lamping. When lamping, poachers use bright lights to dazzle wildlife such as rabbits and deer in order to make them an easy target. Understandably wanting to discover who was on his property, Williams joined his daughter’s partner, the jockey Conor Ring, and set out to investigate.
On their way to the gallops, Williams and Ring informed local police officers that someone was on Williams’s land. It is at this point that the versions of events put forth by Williams and Dandridge deviate.
Dandridge into the Drainage Ditch?
Spotting Dandridge, Williams states that he pleaded with the pensioner to turn out his light to avoid scaring the horses. The trainer also noted that he carried a lead rope with him in order to capture the dog. At some point during the interaction, Williams claims that Dandridge lost his balance and toppled into a three-foot drainage hole, before attempting to use Williams as a ladder to free himself. Having escaped the hole, Dandridge was apprehended by a police officer who had arrived at the scene. In the words of Williams, the officer gave Dandridge the “old jiu jitsu” to bring him to the floor.
Williams with the Hockey Stick?
In contrast to the Williams version of events, Dandridge maintains that the furious trainer approached the dog walker armed with a hockey stick. Enraged by a trespasser on his land, the victim alleges that Williams rained down a series of heavy blows with the stick, targeting his leg, chest, and an arm he was using to deflect a blow directed at his head.
Whether as a result of a tumble or a barrage of hockey stick blows, Dandridge was left battered, bruised, and with a double fracture to his left arm.
Guilty Verdict Returned
Despite strenuously denying all allegations, Williams appeared in court on 6 May 2025 to answer charges of causing grievous bodily harm. Entering a not guilty plea, the trainer was released on bail, with a date for his trial set for 6 March 2026. That trial concluded on Monday, 9 March, with the jury returning a guilty verdict.
Cath Williams Takes Licence and Gains Cheltenham Success
| Day | Race | Horse | Odds | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed | Champion Chase | Libberty Hunter | 50/1 | 2nd |
| Thu | Kim Muir Chase | Ask Brewster | 22/1 | 1st |
Following the verdict, Williams’ barrister, David Elias KC, requested that the sentencing hearing be adjourned, stating that Williams “has his business and he will need to consider how that will be looked after, bearing in mind the risk of him losing his liberty,” and continuing, “Indeed, he has very pressing commitments in the racing world this week, which he would like to fulfil if that is possible.”
Those pressing commitments most likely referred to Williams’ entries at the Cheltenham Festival. In order for the training operation to continue, Evan Williams passed his licence over to his wife Cath, who has been his assistant since 2003. The first runner with Cath as the named trainer came in the Queen Mother Champion Chase, where Liberty Hunter finished as runner-up to the Willie Mullins trained Il Etait Temps.
Better fortune followed for the Williams family on day three of the Festival. Ask Brewster in the Midlands Quintet colours was sent off at 22/1 for the final race of the day, the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase. Disputing the lead for much of the race, the seven year old battled on under Shane Cotter, holding off another Willie Mullins’ Road To Home to triumph by a neck.
Evan Williams will learn his fate on Tuesday, 14 April. Given the nature of the charges, a custodial sentence is a possibility for the man who has topped the Welsh trainers table for the past 11 years, and boasts four Grade 1 wins and a Welsh Grand National success on his CV. In the meantime the stables have been left in capable hands.