The 300-acre training facility, located at Mt Macedon, 50km north-west of Melbourne, has been Lloyd Williams' base since 2005, when he purchased it for $5.1 million from businessman Kurt Stern.
Since that point, Williams has employed various private trainers for the property with Graeme Rogerson preparing 2006 G1 Victoria Derby winner and 2007 G1 Melbourne Cup winner Efficient (NZ) (Zabeel {NZ}) before Robert Hickmott tasted success with Green Moon (Ire) (Montjeu {Ire}) in the 2012 Melbourne Cup and Almandin (Ger) (Monsun {Ger}) in the 2016 Melbourne Cup.
Other private trainers at Macedon Lodge included John Sadler and current trainer Liam Howley, but Williams has maintained a close hold on day-to-day training operations.
Graeme Rogerson prepared the 2006 G1 Victoria Derby winner and 2007 G1 Melbourne Cup winner Efficient (NZ) from Macedon Lodge
He told media via text message that as his overseas interests have grown, it has proven hard for him to devote the time to his Victorian-based operation that he would like.
“Over the last 18 months I have found it impossible to supervise Macedon Lodge," he said. "Over the previous decades I lived there and supervised everything."
“Over the last 18 months I have found it impossible to supervise Macedon Lodge." - Lloyd Williams
“But (it’s) more difficult in your 80th (year) — age slows you down.”
Williams' hands-on role at Macedon Lodge has courted some controversy, with some suggesting he was effectively the trainer of his select band of horses, despite them racing under the name of others.
His son Nick has been the spokesman for the stable for some time, and the 'head trainers' have barely been heard from.
Joseph O'Brien, Llyod Williams, Corey Brown and Barry Brown after Rekindling's 2017 Melbourne Cup win
But in the past few years, Lloyd Williams has developed a close relationship with the world's leading trainer Aidan O'Brien and his son Joseph. Joseph gave Williams his sixth Cup winner in 2017 when Rekindling (GB) (High Chaparral {Ire}) won the famous Flemington two-mile race.
The pair almost combined to win it again this year with Master Of Reality (Ire) (Frankel {GB}), who led until the final stages before his wayward manners late cost him victory as he was beaten over the line by only Vow And Declare (Declaration Of War {USA}), before being relegated to fourth by a stewards' protest.
The Cup remains the race that Williams still wants to win most, and he will utilise his international connections to prepare his horses in the future.
Frankie Dettori and Joseph O'Brien after this year’s Melbourne Cup
"Racing continues for us – many, many horses in Ireland,” Williams said. “We will be back with Frankie D (Dettori) to try (to) win the Cup (in) 2020.”
The amount of horses trained at Macedon Lodge has dropped off in recent years, with Howley only having 148 starters since taking over two years ago, for 15 winners.
Two of those winners have been at Group 1 level, Almandin in the 2018 The BMW and Homesman (USA) (War Front {USA}) in the 2018 Underwood S. Howley has only had two winners this season, Homesman in the G2 Feehan S. and Spanish Point (GB) (Frankel {GB}) in a BM78 race at Geelong in October.
Homesman (USA) was prepared at the Macedon Lodge facilities
Under Hickmott, Macedon Lodge produced 13 Group 1 winners between 2009 and 2017, three of them via Fawkner (Reset), who won the G1 Caulfield Cup in 2013.
Sadler's lone Group 1 for Macedon Lodge came via Efficient in the 2009 Turnbull S., while Rogerson won seven Group 1 races for Williams in total, four of them based from Macedon Lodge.
The property, which was also the base for 2001 Melbourne Cup winning trainer Sheila Laxon, who used it to prepare Ethereal (NZ) (Rhythm {USA}), was offered for sale in 2016, but didn't find a buyer.
With state-of-the-art training facilities, it is estimated to be now worth around $20 million.
Gallery: Mt Macedon facilities
While the family's racing interests will continue in Australia, Nick Williams has confirmed that most of the horses based at Mt Macedon will be sold, either privately or through dispersal.
It is believed around 20 horses remain under Howley's name, all of them bred overseas. The young trainer's future is unclear, but he will be heartened by the fact that both Sadler and Hickmott have gone on to successful careers after leaving Macedon Lodge.
