Lloyd Williams has become the first owner to claim five Melbourne Cup wins, after his German-based gelding Almandin pipped Heartbreak City at the post to win the “race that stops a nation”.
The Victorian-based property developer and casino king first tasted victory 35 years ago, in 1981, with Just a Dash, backing up again four years later with What a Nuisance.
Thereafter, Williams experienced a dry run – waiting 22 years to sip winners’ champagne with Efficient in 2007 – before claiming his fourth crown in 2012 with Green Moon.
Before the race, only three other owners could boast four Melbourne Cup crowns, with two of those – John Tait and Etienne de Mestre – winning in the 1860s and 1870s, including De Mestre’s back-to-back wins with Archer in the inaugural and second-only ever Cups.
Almandin was trained by Robert Hickmott, who also combined with Williams for their 2012 victory, but he remains well behind the late “King of the Cup” Bart Cummings who trained a record 12 winners.
A former racing partner with Kerry Packer, Williams has previously paid tribute to the great Sydney trainer TJ Smith, who handled his first cup winner, Just a Dash.
“I don’t think I would know anything about racehorses if I had not met TJ,” Williams said. “He could have been successful in anything he chose to be. I was fortunate in my life that Tom took a great liking to me.”
Involved in thoroughbred horse racing since the 1960s, Williams shot to prominence as a businessman in the early 1990s when he won a $2bn tender from the then Kennett state government to build and operate Melbourne’s Crown casino.
Initially a shopping centre developer, Williams founded his property business, Hudson Conway in the mid 1980s with former Fairfax Media chairman Ron Walker and coal industry magnate Rod Carnegie.
Williams, who had four horses in the cup, had foreshadowed Almandin’s chances ahead of Gallante, Bondi Beach and Assign thanks to a favourable weighting.
“I think Almandin, in an old-fashioned sense he’s probably beaten the handicapper,” said Williams on Monday. “I would probably give him 54.5 or 55kg if you were handicapping him today.”
