Dual-code Gary hits 500 wins – and still counting

For someone who resisted the temptation to become a racehorse owner until he could afford to lose his investment, Gary Williams has fared well….very well in fact.
Last month Williams celebrated his 500th win as an owner across the two equine racing codes. Since taking the plunge into ownership in the 1990s he’s lost count of how many horses he’s been involved in, but not the all-important win total, and he’s had the thrill of being a part-owner of champions in both codes.
His list is headed by Changeover, the second highest-earning pacer in New Zealand harness racing history, and champion galloper Xcellent, dual Horse of the Year in a career that encompassed four Group One wins from just 13 starts.
Perhaps it’s the accountant in him that Williams knows exactly how many races each of his horses has won and what the rolling tally is. That’s one good reason why he crossed the Tasman last month to see the Mark and Nathan Purdon-trained two-year-old trotter High Step win at Melbourne’s Melton track, taking her part-owner’s number of wins to a neat 500.
Williams’ initial foray into ownership involved a handful of standardbreds during the early 1990s, but after a lack of success, that proved unsustainable. Before the turn of the century, however, he took a share in a Graeme Sanders-trained galloper appropriately named Mac ’N’ Fries, whose five wins were to include the Taupo Cup.
That taste of success led to a growing ownership brief that expanded in particular to harness racing, and over the past 25 years the winners have kept rolling in. The tally now stands at 502, with 374 of them harness winners and 128 thoroughbreds, most of them in syndicates but some with as much as a one-third interest.
Racing began for Williams when growing up in Mosgiel as the son of keen racegoer amongst a vibrant community based around the nearby Wingatui racing and training centre. “We used to go to the races most weekends at Wingatui and all around Otago, depending on where they were,” he recalls. “I got to know a lot of the people involved, and that included Gordon Thomson, who had the great mare Show Gate.
“I used to help Gordon out at his stables and travelling to the races. He was unconventional and he had his share of knockers, but you couldn’t deny what he achieved with that mighty racehorse.
“I ended up studying accountancy at Otago University and one of the things I did for pocket money was get up before dawn and head out into the horse paddocks to pick up mushrooms which I would then sell.”
Sport was a big part of Williams’ life across a wide spectrum, which included eight games in the Otago rugby jersey as well as high level cricket and table tennis. After gaining his accountant’s ticket, he worked in Dunedin before deciding to head overseas, which led to spending seven years in Bermuda. That’s where he met his Canadian-born wife Roseanne and amongst other sporting pursuits, represented Bermuda at the world table tennis championships.
Returning to New Zealand in the late 1980s, he made the decision that would secure his family’s future, buying one then two McDonald’s fast-food franchises in Nelson. That’s why a horse named Mac ’N’ Fries proved to be a well-named forerunner to successful racehorse ownership.
“McDonald’s was 20 years of hard work, but it enabled me to retire earlier than most people,” Williams says succinctly. Even before that defining point it also enabled him to indulge his passion for racing more deeply, spreading his interests across both codes and enjoying the thrill of ownership in some of the stars of gallops and harness racing.
“I got more involved in thoroughbreds with the Sanders family and the Moroney brothers, then the harness syndicates that began with the Auckland Trotting Club. I ended up with a 31 per cent share in Pasta Post, who would have been a champion if he had stayed sound, then with the Moroneys there were horses like Xcellent and Tinseltown that gave me so many thrills.
“I had only four per cent in Xcellent, but what a time we all had! He won the Derby at just his third start, and the following spring he finished third in the Melbourne Cup. That day at Flemington, there I was looking for a seat in the stand and ended up sitting next to Bart Cummings – you could never buy those sorts of experiences!
“Changeover was one of four horses in a 50-person syndicate, but it was the most profitable of any that I’ve been in. He won over $2 million on the track and when he retired to stud we collected another $2.5 million!”
More recent successes revolve around Fortuna Syndicates with the likes of Wellington Cup winner Leaderboard and various standardbreds under the Breckon Farms umbrella.
At age 70 Williams is able to both look back at a stack of fun in racehorse ownership along with various other aspects of his busy life, and ahead at what his various interests might bring.
The week ahead will be spent in Christchurch taking in the Cup and Show Week action at Addington and Riccarton, when he will be pinning his ownership hopes on the Mark and Nathan Purdon-trained Treacherous Love in the Sires Stakes Final on Show Day.
He also has his sights on the massive Harness Grand Prix meeting at Addington on the second Sunday in December, featuring eight Group One races when he hopes to have at least two starters.
“I do my best to keep track of the various horses and there might be others that I haven’t caught up on, but that’s all part of the fun,” says Wallace.
“Looking at the bigger picture, there’s plenty to look forward to. Stakes are the most important driver of participation and in that respect the Entain deal is a game-changer. What’s coming at Ellerslie with the new track and stakes rising like they are is exciting.”
Balancing that optimism, Williams warns that racing mustn’t lose sight of wider factors with the potential to significantly impact its viability.
“The biggest threat to racing is its relevance to New Zealand life, that’s been the most worrying thing I’ve noticed over the years, the way we’ve become disconnected from the wider community.
“Something else we can’t lose sight of is climate change – it’s real alright. Earlier this year we saw that in Auckland and lots of other parts of the country, and we’ve seen what an impact that can have on racing.”