OBSESSION TO

Lloyd Williams has owned a record six Melbourne Cup winners and set up an elaborate operation to get more, writes LEO SCHLINK

FOR a man who made his fortune in property development, the essence of Lloyd Williams' Melbourne Cup obsession owes as much to AFL principles as corporate governance.

Williams' unquenchable racing passion is littered with references to football terminology and methodology.

“I'm in the last quarter of my life,” he said. “In fact, not even that – I'm on the interchange bench.”

When Williams, 78, speaks of his fixation for the Cup, it is set against the context of age and personal experience.

It is 70 years since the now annual compulsion to identify – and own – the Cup winner first took seed.

“Why do I like it?” Williams asked.

“I'm a Melburnian. I first saw a Melbourne Cup when I snuck into a hotel after school at the age of eight and that's when it made such an impact on me.”

Since leaving Xavier College, Williams has exulted in a record six Cup victories – Just A Dash (1981), What A Nuisance ('85), Efficient (2007), Green Moon ('12), Almandin ('15) and Rekindling ('17).

In the 158-year history of the Cup, no owner has been more successful.

Williams will have two runners tomorrow – favourite Yucatan and The Cliffsofmoher – both prepared by master Irish horseman Aidan O'Brien.

The pair were identified months ago as likely Flemington types by Williams and his son Nick using a ranking system not unlike those applied at draft camp.

Having passed muster, they were duly bought, joining Team Williams.

According to Nick Williams, his father is consumed by an Alastair Clarkson-like ambition for success. The AFL analogies abound. There are systems and processes – a constantly evolving search for marginal gains and a habit of recruiting from proven areas, while always being prepared to innovate.

The only critical differences are the absence of a salary cap.

It is on the slopes of Mount Macedon, on the property they bought for $5.5million in 2007, where the Williams' operation has hatched their biggest coups.

Liam Howley is the head trainer for Williams. As chief executive of the operation, Williams calls the shots. Photo: Scott Barbour/Getty

FAMILY FUN: Lloyd Williams and his grandson Frank Williams with last year’s Melbourne Cup winner Rekindling.Robbie Waterhouse, whose late father-in-law Tommy Smith remains a seminal influence on Williams, says the model – heavily criticised by some – makes perfect sense.“Lloyd Williams is the best trainer of stayers in the world,” Waterhouse said. “He knows what the right horse is and how to get them right on the right day.“He has ideas which he is 100 per cent right with, and loves staying races.“He is very smart at getting the horses there at the top of its game, and enjoys that challenge.”Nick Williams describes his father as driven and passionate about the Cup. Winning it is an abiding obligation.“His passion for the Melbourne Cup and trying to win it is stronger than ever,” Williams said of his father.“He really loves it. There's no doubt as the race has got better, it's become a bigger challenge to identify the right horses and so forth.“And he really enjoys that part of it. It's not the race. It's the process of getting into the race that he really loves. The result always takes care of itself if you get the process right.“My father is very big on structure and systems. We follow that with our picking of the horses, the way we train the horses at Macedon, and that's what drives the place forward.“We really enjoy getting a plan right. We get plenty wrong, too.”From the start of the northern hemisphere flat season, Lloyd