Cover image courtesy of Michael McInally
For Grant Williams, founder of Stable Of Stars the project has been more than five years in the making and has been officially operating for just over 12 months. The club enjoyed their bigger success to date when King Colorado stormed to victory in the G1 JJ Atkins S.
Grant Williams and his owners couldn’t believe it when King Colorado (Kingman {GB}) hit the front in the G1 JJ Atkins at Eagle Farm on Saturday. It was a thoroughly deserved reward for Williams, having poured countless hours into the Stable Of Stars project.
One of the most exciting colts in Australia, King Colorado is a 2-year-old son of one of the finest colts to race for the late Prince Khalid bin Abdullah, Kingman (GB) who stands at Juddmonte Farms’ Banstead Manor property in Cheveley.
In 2020, Kingman was visited by More Aspen (USA), a chestnut daughter of the late More Than Ready (USA). She was a dual winner from 1450 to 1800 metres in Great Britain and the United Arab Emirates.
More Aspen had won the Listed Singspiel S. at Meydan and finished third in the G2 Cape Verdi S. and was imported to Australia by Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum on November 30, 2019.
She joined the lush paddocks of Segenhoe Stud and on Monday, September 14, 2020 she delivered the bay colt she had been carrying.
General manager of Segenhoe, Peter O’Brien, fondly recalls the colt who would become known as King Colorado, “Sheikh Khalifa bought the mare down (to Australia) pregnant carrying King Colorado.
“When King Colorado was born, he was a great type. He has a beautiful head and a great presence. He oozes class,” O’Brien told TDN AusNZ.
“When King Colorado was born, he was a great type. He has a beautiful head and a great presence. He oozes class.” - Peter O'Brien
“The Sheikh (Khalifa) had decided to retain this colt, and coincidentally Grant Williams from Stable Of Stars had rung me about the new concept he was setting up, which involved getting all new participants into the industry. He was targeting mums and dads, retirees, and just anybody who wanted to be involved in horse ownership at a cost-effective level.
“I loved the idea and relayed that to Tim Stakemire (racing manager to the Sheikh) about maybe leasing King Colorado to Stable Of Stars to give them a good start.
“Sheikh Khalifa was very keen on the idea, he loved the idea of getting new people into the industry, and that’s how it all happened.”
“Sheikh Khalifa was very keen on the idea (leasing King Colorado to Stable Of Stars), he loved the idea of getting new people into the industry, and that’s how it all happened.” - Peter O'Brien
King Colorado shows promise
Sent into training with the master trainers Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, King Colorado debuted at Kembla Grange in a 2-year-old maiden in late April and finished fourth.
Returning to Kembla Grange in May over 1400 metres, the colt ran out an impressive 1.5l winner after spending most of the journey wide.
Williams takes up the story, “Louise Day, who rode King Colorado at Kembla Grange, was forced to go to the front at the 400-metre mark because he had been wide; she didn’t have much choice, Louise said after the race he just had no idea what to do.
“It was like he (King Colorado) turned out to Louise and said, 'Hey, what’s happening? Where are the other horses?' because he had no clue what to do without other horses around him.
“We knew he was a nice horse from the Kembla (Grange) victory. Everything King Colorado had done up to that point, he constantly improved. Despite it being only a Kembla Grange maiden race, his performance was amazing, having to sit three-wide and still having enough to put the field away; that confirmed he was a nice horse.”
There would be bigger fish to fry, with the stable setting the colt for a tilt at the G1 JJ Atkins S. at Eagle Farm, and the outcome would be almost unbelievable for Williams and Stable Of Stars.
Connections of King Colorado after winning the G1 JJ Atkins S. at Eagle Farm | Image courtesy of Michael McInally
“We had people coming from four states but didn’t expect what happened. King Colorado was sent out as an outsider in the field, and we were the last ones in the field and nearly didn’t get a run.”
It mattered little. Showing the class of a future star King Colorado swept the lead in the long Eagle Farm straight and showed plenty of grit under Jason Collett to add his name to the G1 JJ Atkins S. honour roll.
“It took us all a bit by surprise. And because we were coming from many different places and didn’t expect the win, we did most of our celebrating at the track.
“The stable (Ciaron Maher and David Eustace) kept on telling me you think he’s nice now, Grant (Williams), wait until he fills his frame out in about six months and when the penny drops,” Williams told TDN AusNZ.
“The stable (Ciaron Maher and David Eustace) kept on telling me you think he’s (King Colorado) nice now, Grant (Williams), wait until he fills his frame out in about six months and when the penny drops.” - Grant Williams
“King Colorado is still a baby, so we never expected start three as a 2-year-old, but honestly, he blew us away; he really put it all together.”
O’Brien was beyond pleased to see King Colorado salute in the JJ Atkins S. for the group.
“It is just a great story. It was incredible for Grant (Williams) and the whole group. It is a great concept that Grant has created. There is no-add-ons; it is just a simple lease where people can race a horse and enjoy meeting new people,” O’Brien enthused.
“We as an industry need to be innovative in trying to look outside the box and entice new people, and I just think it is wonderful.”
“We as an industry need to be innovative in trying to look outside the box and entice new people, and I just think it (Stable Of Stars) is wonderful.” - Peter O'Brien
Bigger picture
For Williams, the victory was so much more, having developed the concept of the Stable Of Stars. Despite retiring from his traditional work, Williams admits to putting in 12-hour days nearly seven days a week in his quest to make his club something people want to be part of; the victory of King Colorado served as a bigger-picture achievement.
For Williams, the Stable Of Stars project has never been about monetary gain. It is a passion project.
“We have purposely kept a low profile with Stable Of Stars. We launched 12 months ago in April, which was 12 months later than we were supposed to, but I had a significant illness that caused a delay.
Grant Williams (centre) | Image courtesy of Grant Williams
“I have been working on this project for five years and took my time to get it right. I didn’t want to launch it and get lost. So I did a lot of research. I spoke to trainers, owners, breeders, farms and ordinary people to find the right mix,” Williams shared with TDN AusNZ.
“I came up with the idea in the end that we needed a program with two facets to it. The whole idea was to be a membership club, so we named it Stable Of Stars Racing Club. The idea was to build steppingstones to help ordinary people get into horse ownership.
“To us, the first steppingstone was, how do I get people to experience being an owner without financial risk? The idea then was a monthly membership, people will pay a small amount of money every month to be a member, and they can feel like they own every horse we have in the stable.”
Some of King Colorado's connections celebrate after winning the G1 JJ Atkins S. | Image courtesy of Michael McInally
To aid members of Stable Of Stars feel the full ownership experience, Williams struck a deal with Prism, an online portal popular within the industry for its ease of communication and sharing updates on horses.
“We struck a deal with Prism. You have to be a racehorse owner to have an account, and my members aren’t owners by definition, but we wanted them to feel like they are and have the same experience.
“We worked together with Prism, and they have allowed me to create an individual account for every member that will enable them to have all the updates, reports and audio/videos, and it also means that they will get invited to racedays, stable days and everything we are going to provide.
“We want to make it a real experience-based program and get behind the scenes. We also want to make it an educational program for people.”
“We want to make it a real experience-based program and get behind the scenes. We also want to make it an educational program for people.” - Grant Williams
Williams felt it was vital that Stable Of Stars also serves as an educational tool for new people to the industry, in which most members are.
“Out of the owners I have across my horses, probably 70 to 80 per cent are brand new. They have never owned a horse before. They all love racing and horses but don’t have the financial means to be involved in horses in the traditional sense.
“These are the type of people we want to be involved. For example, we went to see King Colorado at the stables on Friday, I had 10 members with me; it was a meet and greet, have a pat because they hadn’t seen him live before,” Williams told TDN AusNZ.
“... Probably 70 to 80 per cent (of owners) are brand new. They have never owned a horse before. They all love racing and horses but don’t have the financial means to be involved in horses in the traditional sense.” - Grant Williams
“The girls looking after him said, ‘You just missed the vet and the stewards’, and my owners said, ‘Why would they come? They had no idea about the process. And then the girls said if you had been even earlier, you would have seen his chiropractor and physio, and they looked at me and said, ‘You’re kidding, a horse doesn’t have a chiropractor and physio.
“The Maher girls said, ‘Yeah, we have one that travels with us, and King Colorado has just had his back and neck cracked, and he’s feeling great’. None of my owners knew any of this about the care of thoroughbreds.
“I send out so many reports and audio about what our horses are up to, and the feedback from members is, ‘Oh my god, Grant, I never knew it was like that; I would have joined this just to learn all the processes,’ it just proves there is a real appetite and I’ve had a lot of farms, and trainers agree to help me with the educational component of the program once you’re ready.
King Colorado returns to scale after winning the G1 JJ Atkins S. | Image courtesy of Michael McInally
“We haven’t delved into just yet, but it’s been a lot of informal stuff they are learning while being owners, but even that is fueling the ambition. They are loving it and want to know more. I make sure communication is always open, and people are comfortable asking questions, and thankfully, my members take full advantage of this and ask questions.”
How does it work?
Williams explained that all the leased horses are broken into 100 private partnership parcels, where members can take one per cent or more. However, Williams doesn’t allow people more than 10 per cent in a horse.
“King Colorado has 48 owners in him, and most have one per cent, a few have four or five per cent, they all paid $100 upfront, and then it’s $20 a week or $80 a month,” Williams told TDN AusNZ.
“King Colorado has 48 owners in him, and most have one per cent, a few have four or five per cent, they all paid $100 upfront, and then it’s $20 a week or $80 a month.” - Grant Williams
“I aim to be transparent and have integrity in dealing with all my members. We have two bank accounts, one for bills and the other for prizemoney. Any surplus money left over at the end of the season is divided among the owners.
“It’s important and my objective that people trust me and know I’m not trying to get rich off them. And because it is a lease program, I need people’s trust to get horses. We will launch a promotion off the back of King Colorado’s win; we have a membership offer. If somebody learns about the bank off King Colorado or one of the current owners, they can have the first month free. They can have a 70 per cent discount for life, so $9.99 a month.”
Williams, speaking passionately, strongly reinforces how he wants every member of Stable Of Stars to feel like they belong as part of a community, encouraging members to support new members into the Stable Of Stars family.
“I am blown away by the kindness of my members welcoming new people into Stable Of Stars.
“The children of one of the members, every night, lean down on the side of the bed and pray King Colorado has a good sleep, hearing these stories about how much a horse can touch the heart makes it so worth it.”
Community focus
Williams also wants to support communities and clubs outside of Stable Of Stars, hoping to encourage more people into racing and spread a positive message.
“We want to support provincial and country race clubs; I am buying racedays from race clubs to run the Stable Of Stars community raceday. Our first one will be at the Sunshine Coast on Sunday, July 30. It will be a community project, and I’ll aim to get local businesses involved in a sweep for a small amount of money and promote those businesses to everyone on the day.
“Also on Friday at the Sunshine Coast, Stable Of Stars will run a charity golf day shootout. The Saturday will be a little informal meet and greet, open to anybody who wants to turn up and have a drink. I should add I have two charity partners on board, so every percentage of prizemoney will be given to Racing Hearts Therapy and The National Jockeys Club.
“I am passionate about grassroots sports and racing and giving back to the community, and it is part of my vision with Stable Of Stars. It was inspired by my background of being a part of many community groups and a sporting coach. I know how these places can struggle, and this is a way to promote racing, community, sporting clubs and new businesses,” Williams gushed.
“I want to be a collaborator, and I hope this will open the door for people to come into racing. I want everybody to win, and I hope this helps.”
“I am passionate about grassroots sports and racing and giving back to the community, and it is part of my vision with Stable Of Stars. I want to be a collaborator, and I hope this will open the door for people to come into racing. I want everybody to win, and I hope this helps.” - Grant Williams
With plenty of exciting projects and concepts in the works for Stable Of Stars, Williams is eager to thank those who have contributed and dedicated time to his vision.
“I have had tremendous support from many people, but I have a team of six who all have full-time jobs. They all love racing and have come on board because they have trusted me and this idea and have been so supportive.
“I partnered with Dean Evans from Winning Edge Investments because I found his service the most transparent tipping service in the country. He allowed me to go out to his database of clients and fill the ownership of King Colorado and Miss Dynamo; if he hadn’t done that, I doubt we would have any horses.
“Peter O’Brien (Segenhoe), Conor Phelan (Kingstar Farm), and so many people have all been an amazing help.”
