Melbourne Cup placegetter C’est La Guerre and Adelaide Cup winner Muir headline the Hudson Conway Racing draft at the Inglis Racehorse Sale in Melbourne on March 2.

Australia’s top racing analyst Deane Lester, who has provided expert comments on all 58 horses in the Team Williams draft, said it was very rare that a Melbourne Cup placegetter was offered at Public Auction.

C’est La Guerre finished third to Viewed and Bauer in the 2008 Melbourne Cup and last April finished third in the Chairman’s Handicap (2600m.) and fourth in the Sydney Cup (3200m.) at Randwick.

Muir won the Adelaide Cup (3200m.) in March last year to take his record to six wins (with three thirds) from only 23 starts.

The draft includes established winners Niblick (six wins), Base (five), Vesper (four), Elms (three), Billson (two), I’m Imposing, Integration, Kershaw, Newell, Posted, Powlett, Revitalise and the exciting Infuse.

Nick Williams said all horses in the stable’s biggest-ever dispersal included recent city winners and placegetters plus un-raced three-year-olds by leading sires.

He said most of the racehorses were bought for between $200,000 and $400,000 as yearlings and there would be massive savings for buyers who would avoid the expense of first-year costs of breaking-in fees, training fees and other expenses that would take total costs to between $40,000 and $60,000.

Lloyd Williams has a simplistic attitude to culling his big team.  Any horse he doubted would measure up to Group One standard is sold to make way for new purchases.  His judgment was astray when he sold Subscribe who, with a name change to Vengeance Of Rain, became the champion racehorse of Hong Kong with stake-earnings of more than $HK75 million.

Only last Saturday, Nick Williams was the first to congratulate connections of Bolton (Zabeel) after back-to-back city wins. Bolton’s emphatic win at Caulfield followed an impressive win at Flemington on January 21 and he has now had nine starts for trainer Stephen Brown and new owners for three wins and a Moonee Valley fourth.

Last year’s dispersal sales included winners Hampden (seven starts for four wins and a second), Brampton, Leading, Hume and Strumming. Hume was sold for $22,000 and earned for his new connections almost $300,000.

Other winners for new owners included Coastal, Forecast, Global (three wins), Indite, Thames, Vesting, Albion, Baron, Ingleby, Maling, Mews, Module (five starts for new owners included a hat-trick of city wins), Provider, Provincial, Remodel (three wins and two seconds in Brisbane), Traded, Whitewood, Devon and Compelled.

Nick Williams said it was pleasing that so many winners had come through the Hudson Conway Racing sales.  “Almost all of our horses are ready to race, so in many cases the returns have arrived within weeks for new connections,” he said.

Inglis Bloodstock director, Peter Heagney, said the Williams family was renowned for buying quality thoroughbreds with strong pedigrees and the draft in the Select Sale contained outstanding racing prospects.  “It is an excellent mix of recent city winners and placegetters and some un-raced three-year-olds by leading sires,” he said. “It really is a wonderful opportunity for buyers to acquire read-made racehorses.