![Tony 'Tubba' Williams with wife Sue at the Bong Bong Picnic Races. Picture by Virginia Harvey Tony 'Tubba' Williams with wife Sue at the Bong Bong Picnic Races. Picture by Virginia Harvey](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/JJAXMCtTuAnFPeUKCfF8jc/85d31b2e-3057-4e2e-832a-f18fa9d7fe8f.JPG/r0_0_4176_2357_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
The Bong Bong Picnic Races were everything Tony 'Tubba' Williams thought they would be.
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The jockey made his return to amateur race-riding at the meeting on Friday after losing a staggering 38 kilograms.
The 62-year-old had three rides at Bong Bong which came 44 years after his last ride at an official race meeting.
After being told stories from friends - such as the legendary trainers John Moore and Nicky Henderson - over the years, Williams had high expectations for Bong Bong.
And did the picnic meeting live up to them?
"Quite amazingly, yes," Williams said.
"It didn't matter if they were once-a-year racegoers, whether they were diehard racegoers, whether they were involved in a horse, whether they were a trainer, whether they were suppliers of goods for the day or working on the day - everyone wanted to be there.
"It was such a positive feel and I was delighted to be involved with it like I was."
![Tubba Williams in the colours of Titled Tycoon who he rode aboard in the Bong Bong Cup for trainer Rod Northam. Picture by Virginia Harvey Tubba Williams in the colours of Titled Tycoon who he rode aboard in the Bong Bong Cup for trainer Rod Northam. Picture by Virginia Harvey](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/JJAXMCtTuAnFPeUKCfF8jc/d6df25e6-cb48-49d8-a692-782a3e7ed4e6.JPG/r0_306_3944_2784_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
While Williams said "a winner would have been fabulous", it wasn't to be with the hoop's best result coming aboard Red Impulse who finished third for Scone trainer Justin Drake in an open handicap.
In the Bong Bong Cup, Williams and Titled Tycoon, trained by Scone's Rod Northam, finished fourth after sitting outside the favourite, Ritzytwenties trained by Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott, for the majority of the race.
"The only way we thought we could beat [Ritzytwenties] was to pressure [him]," Williams said.
Ritzytwenties went on to finish second while California August, trained by Moruya's Natalie Jarvis, took out the cup.
Williams will have plenty more chances to ride winners - both at Bong Bong and other picnic meetings.
The jockey plans to continue racing at the picnics and not just in NSW when the season resumes next year.
Racing in Victoria and Queensland is also on the cards with Williams wanting to show as much support as he can to the smaller tracks along the east coast.
And a trip back to Bong Bong is definitely on the cards.
Williams received messages from Moore and another great mate in Newhaven Park's John Kelly after the meeting, both wanting to take horses to Bong Bong and offering him rides in next year's cup.
"I don't think there will be any shortage of possible rides for me next year," Williams said.
Making the day even more special was having his wife Sue there alongside him as well as a number of other people close to Williams.
"I had family and friends there. My wife's put up with a lot in the last few months, but family came from as far as Perth and from Queensland, Victoria and all around NSW," he said.
And the support he's received has been "humbling".
"The encouragement from friends and people that didn't know me - the encouragement has been quite amazing," Williams said.