Cover image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
Emma Clotworthy knew she was looking at something special when she first laid eyes on Willydoit (Tarzino {NZ}) – in fact, she was so confident in his ability she instantly declared “that horse is going to win the Derby”.
And win the Derby he did in stunning fashion, showing great stamina and heart to hold off the chasing pack after finding the front at the turn in the 2400m staying race worth $1.25 million.
Just a $75,000 purchase alongside co-trainer and husband, Shaun Clotworthy, from Westbury Stud at the 2023 New Zealand Bloodstock National Yearling Sale, Clotworthy now looks like a genius.
With this said, it is hard to imagine she worried about looking like “a dork” after so confidently backing his ability early on.
“When it came around to buying him I said ‘that horse is going to win the Derby’. I just picked him right from the word go and said it, so I’m really glad that came off,” Clotworthy told The Thoroughbred Report.
“When it came around to buying him I said ‘that horse is going to win the Derby’. I just picked him right from the word go and said it, so I’m really glad that came off,” - Emma Clotworthy
“Otherwise I would’ve looked like a bit of a dork. I don’t usually say that.
“I said that to Russell Warwick at Westbury Stud.
“I just had a feeling about him. When we were breaking him in, he was a bit dumb.
“But he did a lot of trackwork in the beginning, so we found out about his legs and body and how we could use them early on.
“I thought he handled the basics and was quite confident in his own body.”
Clotworthy was instantly impressed with the size of Willydoit.
“When I look at horses at the stud, I never look at pedigree. I just look at type, and there was something about him that I was rapt with,” she said.
“When I look at horses at the stud, I never look at pedigree. I just look at type, and there was something about him that I was rapt with,” - Emma Clotworthy
“Being a classical New Zealand stayer, he was quite big. So from day dot, I told Russell ‘that’s my Derby horse, so don’t sell it’.”
And despite not looking too much into Willydoit’s pedigree, Clotworthy said being by G1 Victoria Derby and Rosehill Guineas winner Tarzino, and out of More Than Ready mare Willamette was the ideal breeding line.
“That was an ideal cross and type, and we’ve actually re-purchased a couple on that line as well, just because it works,” she said.
“But what sets him apart is he’s got a huge stride.”
Emma and Shaun Clotworthy | Image courtesy of Loveracing.nz
Never any doubt Willydoit could bounce back
Just like the moment she first saw Willydoit, Clotworthy’s faith in her 3-year-old gelding never wavered after he finished 10th in the G2 Avondale Guineas on February 22.
She always knew he would still be hard to beat at the elite level.
“I think we were always really confident. Obviously, you read around and people say things,” she said.
“But we looked at Avondale and everything was against him. His stride was shortened up to a metre difference.
“He never really went for them in the last 100, and he was still the second-fastest in the 600m to home.
Willydoit | Image courtesy of Kenton Wright (Race Images)
“It just wasn’t suited for him. He’s a big horse, and his stride patterns were changed.
“So we just put a line through that and based everything on how we were preparing him.”
Clotworthy was also pleasantly surprised at the way in which Willydoit pulled up from the Avondale Guineas over 2100m.
“No, not really (did I lose confidence). If you look at the race and the stats, and the next day – it looked like he hadn’t even had a race,” she said.
“He didn’t even blow. There was nothing to say it was his fault. It just didn’t work out for us.”
Clotworthy said winning the NZ Derby was the pinnacle of her training career.
“This was our first G1 winner too. We do sell a lot of horses, and unfortunately they go before their 3-year-old careers,” she said.
“This was our first G1 winner too. We do sell a lot of horses, and unfortunately they go before their 3-year-old careers,” - Emma Clotworthy
“So we never really get to have any races here. We’ve placed with horses who can’t be sold, so that was really good.
“And also the Derby for us is the one – every staying trainer wants to win the New Zealand Derby.
“It was definitely a pinnacle for our careers.
“I come from a jumping background, so we’ve won a Northern Hurdle and now the Derby.
“This was the first Derby we’ve been to in a long time because we usually don’t have those horses – if they’re any good they’re usually sold.”
G1-winning horse to go to champion trainer
Clotworthy said her star stayer Willydoit will soon enjoy being conditioned under the expert guidance of Melbourne Cup-winning trainer, Ciaron Maher.
“He will likely go to the paddock first,” she said.
“We’ve got two options – one that he goes to the paddock and has a rest, and then goes to the Maher stables and they continue on with him.
“Or he’ll go to the paddock and we’ll re-assess, and we will take him over there and train him ourselves.
“And then he’ll go to the Maher stables. But we’ll be guided by the horse. He licked his bowl clean (on Saturday) night, and for his breakfast, and he looks great.
“He started maturing in the body at the right time.”
Ciaron Maher | Image courtesy of Ashlea Brennan
After achieving her dream and guiding him to an NZ Derby win as a 3-year-old, Clotworthy said she was now excited about Willydoit’s future in Australia.
“The original deal was when he was sold to MyRacehorse I wanted to keep him in New Zealand until he ran in the Derby,” she said.
“And then I wanted him to go to an Australian trainer because there are a lot more suitable races over there.”
Clotworthy also reserved praise for the MyRacehorse team and buying agent, Andrew Williams, of Andrew Williams Bloodstock.
“(Willydoit) was probably going to go to Hong Kong, which I didn’t want. So I rang up Andrew and another, and Andrew got back to me,” she said.
“I said to him ‘this is what I want – I want him to stay in New Zealand, and he can go to Australia afterwards’.
“Andrew spoke to MyRacehorse, and they’ve been awesome to deal with.
Andrew Williams | Image courtesy of The Image Is Everything
“We need more like that in New Zealand. They provide great opportunities to have small shares, but they (shareholders) still feel a huge part of it.
“It was really nice (on Saturday) giving that many people joy, especially so many Australians.
“It was great, and I think 150 people came over. We usually go there, but no one usually comes here, so that was good.”
Ever gracious despite winning her dream race and her first at Group 1 level, Clotworthy did however have this message for Australian horse-racing fans.
“You guys can’t claim him as an Australian horse when he goes over there,” she said with a smile.
