Anthony Van Dyck’s death leaves Williams ‘completely saddened’
LLOYD Williams’ elation at snaring a record seventh Melbourne Cup victory with Twilight Payment has been dulled by the death of Anthony Van Dyck.
Williams, 80, took time out from modest celebrations at his Mornington Peninsula property to sympathise with the owners of the English
Derby winner, who was catastrophically injured in the home straight.
“I am completely saddened by what happened to Anthony Van Dyck,” Williams said. “Those boys (owners), the Magniers, (trainer) Aidan O’brien and the Coolmore operation are great sportspeople.
“I’ve been very close to Aidan for two decades. I feel very, very sad about it.”
Williams watched the race from his home as he added the three-handled cup to those won by Just A Dash (1981), What A Nuisance (’85), Efficient (2007), Green Moon (2012), Almandin (2016) and Rekindling (’17).
“I’m down here avoiding COVID,” Williams said. “But it’s very special to win this race. The Melbourne Cup has been my life.
“I’ve been living this dream since I was a young boy. I have to pinch myself. But I suppose we’ve had some success through planning. Life is about trying to win the Melbourne Cup. I’ve had horses for 60 years. I might need a psychiatrist.”
Williams races Twilight Payment with wife Suzie, son Nick and a host of prominent Melbourne businessmen including Gerry Ryan, Michael Gudinski and Phil Mehrten.
Trained in Kilkenny, Ireland, by Joseph O’brien, Twilight Payment ran 11th in last year’s Cup but, according to Williams, has “been transformed this year”.
“Joseph is only a young man (27), but he’s done a great job with this horse,” Williams said. “It really is quite remarkable what he has achieved.
“Joseph has done a terrific job and if you look at his form this year, he hasn’t put in a bad run.”
Williams also paid tribute to winning rider Jye Mcneil.
“He rode a great race,” Williams said.
“The plan was to ride him from the 1000m, put the foot down there and get them (the rest of the field) chasing.
“What an effort from Jye to judge it so perfectly.
“He’s won the Geelong Cup, Bendigo Cup and now the Melbourne Cup in two weeks.
“That’s incredible, really.”