Ardgowan Lodge Flying the Flag as Williamson Trotters Command Six Figures

Few names are as synonymous with trotting success in New Zealand as Phil Williamson. For decades, he has trained and produced elite squaregaiters from Ardgowan Lodge, winning the biggest races and shaping generations of performers.

But in recent years, alongside wife Bev, the focus has broadened. The Williamsons have increasingly channelled their horsemanship and genetic insight into breeding trotters specifically for the yearling sales market, investing in the best bloodlines available and backing their judgement.

Last Wednesday at the Christchurch NZB Standardbred National Yearling Sale that strategy delivered emphatically.

Lot 143, a colt by Volstead out of Our Golden Kenny, realised $110,000 to Kyvalley Racing. Later in the sale, Lot 255, a colt by Timoko out of Dwindle Mist, also brought $110,000 when secured by Stonewall Stud. Two lots, two six-figure results, both trotters.

For Williamson, the thrill was unmistakable.

“Yeah, no, it’s a fantastic sort of buzz for sure, if I could use that word, because, you know, if you’ve got a lot of money, it probably isn’t the same thrill, but when you’ve got everything invested in the game, then it becomes a really big thrill, and it was pretty massive for Bev and I.

“We’ve bred a horse or two with the aim of trying to get some nice horses around us and, you know, it’s another income source and yeah, we’ve been able to play the game OK so far.”

The breeding arm of Ardgowan Lodge has not developed by accident. It has been shaped by experience, by watching bloodlines rise and fall, and by understanding what it takes to compete at the top level. Two years ago, the Williamsons sold a colt by Bold Eagle out of Kenny’s Dream for $100,000 to the same interests who returned this year for the Volstead colt. That colt is now Kyvalley Ray, this season’s leading juvenile trotter, a Group One Sires’ Stakes winner, a Listed Harness Millions victor and the reigning NZ 2YO Trotting Colt & Gelding of the Year.

When Kyvalley Racing returned this year to secure the Volstead colt out of Our Golden Kenny, the connection was evident.

The philosophy behind those matings is straightforward but deliberate.

“The way Bev and I see it is, you could use a short phrase that if you go to the best and hope for the best, there’s some truth to that. But also if you look at the sires themselves, Volstead was an outstanding racehorse in Europe and when you’re breeding to champion stock that gives you a good chance if your mare can do the job, to get a nice horse.

“Timoko the same. He’s probably not so well known but if people research him he did win two Elitloppets and he’s left an Elitloppet winner. That was good enough for me to say we won’t be downgrading our family by going to them.”

In a market that increasingly rewards quality at the top end, the Williamsons have chosen to compete there.

“We’ve put a couple of mares there as well and the outcome has been that we’ve had nice horses to sell and people are looking to buy at the top end of the market these days. The bottom end is probably not as strong as you’d like for the average breeder, but if you want to try to breed quality, there’s profit there.”

The Timoko colt out of Dwindle Mist was particularly well received on type.

“He is a really nice type. He’s a good size, but he had a bit of range about him, a bit of scope, and a wee bit of quality people could see in him when he moved. He had a lovely movement.

“If he follows the path that’s been carved in the trotting, he looks like he’ll go a long way. I think this fellow’s got a good chance. He’s in the right stable where Stonewall have had a lot of success, so he’ll get his opportunity to be good.”

The pedigree underneath adds depth. Dwindle Mist has already produced the Group One winner Harry Stamper.

“The mare’s already left the Group One winner in Harry Stamper, so the family’s strong enough for him to come through and be pretty nice.”

If the Timoko colt appealed on athleticism and pedigree, the Volstead colt out of Our Golden Kenny impressed from day one.

“He was an outstanding foal. He just had class written all over him as a foal, I thought. He’s developed into a nice horse. If you’ve got a quality foal and a quality yearling and he’s got the bloodlines, you’re a good way down the track to getting good buyers interested in purchasing him.”

The colt is the first foal from Our Golden Kenny, a factor that did not deter buyers.

“He is a heck of a nice horse, so we hope all the best for him. He’s going to Australia, but he’ll probably come back if he goes good enough to run in the good races here. And the Kiwi family, if you look at the job they’ve done, they’ve been outstanding.”

That comment came with a smile and a nod to long-standing connections in the industry.

Breeding and sales are a long game and the Williamsons’ eye for pedigree reflects decades in the sport.

“You’re crossing it with the European horses that seem to have great stamina and the American horses that seem to have the speed angle. So that’s kind of where it’s at.

“Our horses over here generally tended to be a little bit down until Sundon came along and maybe gave us a bit of pride and instilled quality into our trotters. Now we’re looking like we’re getting up there into horses that are world class. If you look at horses like Keayang Zahara and that, you know, we can breed world class horses.”

The market signals are reinforcing that confidence. For the first time, the trotting section of the sale aggregated more than one million dollars, a milestone moment for the gait.

“They’re getting towards 50-50 now, so that’s a massive turnaround and opportunity for people that haven’t been in the trotters to see that there’s not just one or two trotters on the programme. There’s now four and sometimes even five at the big meetings.”

“It’s convinced everybody that they can make a dollar out of a trotter, especially if they take a lead through what we’ve done. We’ve had a lot of success with the consistency of them. They can actually be more consistent than a pacer in my opinion.”

That consistency, Williamson believes, is a competitive advantage.

“When they get a bad draw they can still be very competitive, whereas in a pacing race sometimes if they draw really bad it’s detriment to their chances of winning. With a trotter, not so much. They can earn a lot of money. I’ve got horses here that haven’t been top class and they’ve won over $100,000, and consistently doing it. So I think the money’s there.”

For all the success, the sale ring remains a nerve-testing arena.

“If three people are going to war on them, it’s not a hard watch. But if not, it’s definitely not a good watch because you have put a lot in. If you breed one, it’s nearly a two year thing to get to the sales and it’s pretty stressful when the end result is the money you get for it, whether it’s good or not so good, and we’ve had both ends of the stick on that.”

Preparation, he says, carries its own unique tension.

“It’s way more stressful in a sense that just going in and out of the box on the day can be something you’ve got to be careful of. They only need to catch the hip going in and all of a sudden you could be withdrawing it.

“Until it’s actually in the ring you haven’t completed the whole journey. They can jump on themselves in excitement and cut a quarter and next thing you’re walking around lame. It is quite a stressful thing, especially if you’re thinking you’ve got a bit of money walking around there. You’ve got to be on the pulse.”

The risks start well before sale week.

“Every day a horse is in a paddock there’s an opportunity for him to hurt himself. No matter how good your fencing is, they can roll under a wire. It’s just part of the game, but it is the wee stressful side of it when you put a lot of effort in.”

“You’ve got to have a fine line. You don’t want to overfeed them because that can be problematic to joints. There’s a lot involved in it and I’m far from at the top of the tier when it comes to preparing yearlings, but we’re working at it and enjoy the challenge. The road has bends in it.”

With two six-figure results banked this year and a proven sales graduate in Kyvalley Ray flying the flag on the track, the Ardgowan Lodge production line shows no sign of slowing.

“I think it’s my best crop of foals this year. I’ve said it before the sale, so I can carry on saying it. We’ve got some nice ones coming on. So hopefully next year we’ll get a couple into the catalogue and see if we can’t sell someone a nice horse again.

“Having a sales winner and looking a really good horse, that doesn’t hurt. When you can show you don’t just breed them and prepare them, they can actually race back for the owners very successfully, that’s been great.”

For Williamson, the goal remains bigger than individual results.

“We enjoy doing it and we just want the game to thrive for everybody. So get in and breed a few trotters I say.”

At Ardgowan Lodge that invitation is being backed by action, investment and results that are commanding the market’s attention.