Once again Lloyd Williams’ plans will be festering over the winter as his stable meticulously schemes his Melbourne Cup chess pieces like a warlord going into battle.
He’s a man of anonymity like none other in the Australian racing industry. Everyone one in the racing industry knows of him but few actually know him. He’s one of the Australia’s most prominent owners and we hear his name probably more than any other owner.
He owns a lot of horse but doesn’t train, strap or even ride them yet he gets most of the credit for their success before his private trainer Robert Hickmott. He doesn’t fly onto the racecourse by helicopter nor do we ever see him fist-pumping trackside. His son Nick manages the media duties and Lloyd is essentially an unknown figure to the racing public.
A savvy businessman responsible for founding Melbourne’s Crown Casino in 1993, Williams commands respect amongst commercial circles. Although he sold the majority of Crown Casino in 1999, locking the exclusive casino rights in Melbourne for 40 years was genius.
He’s a man of extreme wealth and intelligence, yet does not flaunt it.
Williams is one of the rare purists who couldn’t care less about prize money. Based on the way he manages his horses he’s in it for the prestige – the prestige of winning the Melbourne Cup.
With Green Moon’s victory in the Cup last year, he equalled the most wins in the race as an owner with four.
Again he will be lining up a number of imports he has sourced out of Europe. Injury always knocks out a few horses but we can expect Williams to have two to four runners in the 2013 Melbourne Cup.
Let’s take a look at his best couple of chances beyond well known Green Moon:
Sea Moon
Williams love his Moons after last year and Sea Moon is one of his best chances. He is by Beat Hollow, the same sire as Doomben Cup winning import, Beaten Up.
Sea Moon’s European form is fantastic. The win of his career came in the Group 2 Hardwick Stakes over 2400m when he comfortably beat Dunaden and Red Cadeaux. This was just eight months after they quinella’d the 2011 Melbourne Cup.
He is yet to run in Australia but is a proven traveller that can handle all sorts of conditions. He ran second to St Nicholas Abbey in the Group 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf over 2000m and the form out of that race has been phenomenal.
His rating is already good enough to get a start in the Melbourne Cup and is probably Williams’ best chance.
Masked Marvel
After success with Green Moon’s sire, Williams has returned to Montjeu who also sired Masked Marvel. The five year old was exceptional as a three year old back in England when he won the Group 1 St Leger over 2900m in a race where Sea Moon ran third.
Since then however, Masked Marvel has been unable to win. He continued to battle at Group level against Europe’s best stayers but was comprehensively beaten on every occasion.
The best of this horse is very good. Green Moon’s form fell away in Europe before Robert Hickmott turned his form around so Masked Marvel should not be written off. Having run third in last year’s Group 1 Coronation Cup behind St Nicholas Abbey and Red Cadeux over 2400m, he’s probably just on the fringe of getting a Melbourne Cup start.
Thought Worthy
Williams must consider the Group 2 Great Voltiguer Stakes over 2400m as a pretty good form race because Thought Worthy won the 2012 edition and Sea Moon took out the race in 2011.
The son of Dynaformer who sired 2011 Melbourne Cup winner Americain, is lightly raced. Previously trained by John Gosden, Thought Worthy has amassed over $300,000 in prize money from just seven starts.
Except for his maiden, all of his runs have been at Listed level or better. He couldn’t carry his Voltiguer form into the St Leger where he finished 13 lengths behind the winner.
Thought Worthy is one of those horses that are not good enough to win in Europe but can in Australia if he gets out to the longer distances. He’ll need to win once or twice to increase his rating if he wants a Melbourne Cup start and is certainly worth keeping an eye on.
Massiyn
This is Lloyd Williams’ project horse. Sourced out of Ireland, Massiyn has had six runs in Ireland for two victories and three runner ups. He ran sixth in his debut and then went to the spelling paddock.
When returning for his second preparation, the son of Zamindar surprised everyone. Winning his next two starts, both over 2000m, he was quickly set on a path towards the Irish St Leger in what would be just his sixth and final start in Europe.
He went down by the smallest of margins in the St Leger over 2800m which in Ireland is open to the older horses. Before that run, he ran in the Group 3 Ballyroane Stakes over 2400m and finished second to Gallileo’s Choice who started in last year’s Melbourne Cup.
Because Massiyn is so lightly raced, he will need a big win to make the field in this year’s Melbourne Cup. It’s certainly not beyond him but the 2014 Melbourne Cup looks much more likely.
Seville
This fella bolted out of his skin in last year’s Turnbull Stakes where he flashed home to run second to Green Moon. After that run, he was quickly installed as the Caulfield Cup favourite and shortened dramatically on Melbourne Cup markets.
However, injury struck after that Turnbull run and we have not seen this son of Galileo since. He was at crazy long odds in the Turnbull but if we wind back the clock, his European form was sensational.
He ran fourth behind Masked Marvel in the St Leger and third behind Sea Moon in the Great Voltiguer Stakes. The best run of his career came in the 2011 Group 1 Grand Prix de Paris over 2400m when he ran second behind Mendre by just over a length. Third in that race was Reliable Man who came down to Australia and comfortably won the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes.
Seville is a classy horse and stays all day. There will be plenty of intrigue around this horse when he resumes because he will shoot up the betting markets if he has overcome his injury. He’s rated high enough to get a Melbourne Cup start and is a serious contender.
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