Have horses, will travel – Williams leaves Newgate for Aussie adventure

After 12 years in and out of Newgate Farm, respected bloodstock figure Tony ‘Tubba’ Williams has announced his departure from the leading stud.

Williams, Newgate’s head of nominations and sales, quietly exited the role in December.

He was critical to Newgate’s earliest years in Australia and says his decision to leave Henry Field’s operation wasn’t taken lightly.

However, it coincided with a new direction in his life during 2023, and one in which much of the Australian bloodstock world took interest.

Mid-last year, Williams resolved to publicly shed nearly half his body weight in an effort to ride at the Bong Bong picnic race meeting in November, which he achieved.

Now, he’s chasing a personal ambition to travel to Australia’s remote picnic meetings with his wife, Sue, and about three racehorses in tow.

“I’m 63 years old and, at my age and stage, I’m still very fit and well,” he told The Straight. “I’ve bought a 4WD truck and a four-horse float and, after Easter, we plan to head out, probably to Broome or Port Hedland, to just race the horses and enjoy the Australian outback.

“I don’t want to be 70 saying ‘I should have’. I’m 63 and as fit as I’ve ever been, and I want to enjoy it while I can.”

Williams will first head north and then west on the trail of bush meetings, and, across Australia’s remote north, there are plenty of those during the dry season. He and Sue will be documenting their journey as they go, certainly on social platforms but also perhaps with a weekly podcast.

“Some of this has happened because of the Bong Bong journey last year, but only to a certain extent,” Williams says. “I think too often too many of us leave things too late, and I’ve had a couple of friends in their 70s who have said they wished they’d done things earlier.

“I’ve been very fortunate in the bloodstock world, and in life, that I’ve done a lot of travelling and experienced a lot of things. I just want to do a little bit more.”

It is with gratitude that we announce the departure of @tubbabloodstock from his position as our Head of Nominations and Sales.

We wish Tubba all the best with his new adventures and his bloodstock consulting. pic.twitter.com/XAsaUaDbrZ

— Newgate (@NewgateFarm) January 31, 2024

Advertisement

Williams’ professional life is littered with achievements. 

He has worked for Magic Millions and was managing director of Goffs UK, relocating to England in 2016. His stints at Newgate assisted Field’s outfit to become the largest stallion operation in Australasia, and Field has supported Williams through every decision he’s made, including this one.

“Leaving Newgate is a jolt for me in a lot of ways,” he says. “Newgate has been a greater part of my life over the last 12 years, excluding those years in England, and it’s been fabulous. But Henry has known for some time what I wanted to do, and we decided it was a good time to do this.

“It isn’t a career change for me in terms of riding the picnics, but it is a career change of sorts. I’ll be doing some bloodstock consulting along the way and I’ll still be travelling back from wherever I am for all the major sales.”

Williams won’t be lost to bloodstock on that account. Between Easter, when he sets off, and mid-winter, there are important breeding-stock sales that he will be attending, regardless of where he and Sue find themselves in Australia. 

But he will be lost to the everyday machinations of bloodstock.

“Is it financially wise? Probably not,” he says. “Is it wise at all? I think a lot of people would say it’s not. But is it what I want to do now? Definitely.

“It wouldn’t be for everybody but I think it’s going to be a hell of an adventure and I’m really looking forward to it.”