The connections of dour stayer Wells became the latest beneficiaries of prominent owner Lloyd Williams’s annual reduction of his racehorse team when they collected another victory at Moonee Valley on Saturday.
Wells was one of the regular contingent of well-bred yearlings purchased by Williams each year, only to be culled from his stable with the same regularity.
In this case, the son of Galileo went onto the market before he had raced and was spotted by former jumps jockey Craig Durden.
“I was asked to go and have a look at some Galileos that Lloyd had and I liked him straight away,” Durden said.
Wells rewarded the stable’s faith with a last-stride win in the Become A Member Handicap (3000m), his fifth since joining the team prepared by Durden and his wife Kathryn.
In a race that seemed to be well in the keeping of runner-up Gotta Take Care ($10) when he dashed clear at the 300m, Wells ($6.50) responded bravely to the riding of apprentice Damien Thornton to score by a short half-head.
North Lodge ($9) headed the rest, another three-and-a-half lengths away.
Durden said Wells would now go for a spell and return to racing in the summer with a view to him becoming a jumper next winter.
“He’s shown he can jump, but I think there’s another flat race in him,” Durden said.
Williams has made a habit of selling without regret horses he doesn’t believe will measure up to stakes class.
One of the most notable is the Hong Kong champion Vengeance Of Rain whose wins included the Queen Elizabeth II Cup at Sha Tin and the Dubai Sheema Classic, both at Group One level, and accumulated almost $8 million in prizemoney after leaving the Williams team.
