Stable Of Stars founder Grant Williams reveals near-death experience ahead of King Colorado’s Australian Guineas tilt

King Colorado has taken his large group of “owners” on an amazing ride, but it wouldn’t have happened had Stable Of Stars founder Grant Williams not survived a major stroke.

Grant Williams, who runs the Stable Of Stars leasing group in star horse King Colorado, pictured when he was recovering in hospital from a life-threatening stroke. Picture: Supplied

A huge group of racing lovers have been on the ride of their lives with Group 1 star King Colorado, but their incredible journey would not have taken off if Grant Williams hadn’t come back from the dead.

Williams, the founder of the Stable Of Stars which leases shares in King Colorado to 48 “owners”, had been planning the ambitious racing leasing project for five years and was due to launch in August 2021.

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But only weeks before, Williams was watching a State of Origin rugby league match on television at his NSW central coast home when he suffered a life-threatening stroke.

It was only quick thinking by his sister who wasted no time calling an ambulance, and the proximity of a nearby hospital with a dedicated stroke ward, which saved Williams’ life.

“I was watching State of Origin and I didn’t even know I was having a stroke, it was only because my sister said that I was talking gobbledygook that she called an ambulance,” Williams said.

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“It only took the paramedics two or three minutes to get to me, I was cursing my sister saying ‘you’ve ruined the State of Origin for me’.

“The paramedics walked in the door and spent 30 seconds with me and they said ‘you’re having a stroke, let’s go’.

“They told me I had less than 30 minutes otherwise I’d be dead.

Grant Williams with star horse and Group 1 Australian Guineas contender King Colorado. Picture: Supplied

“I was lucky that Gosford Hospital has a dedicated stroke unit, I got to hospital quickly and they did thrombolysis on me, so that blasted the blood clot.

“They said the blood clot in my brain was so big that in 30 minutes I would have been dead.

“It took me a couple of days to get my speech back, but the only deficiency I’ve got from now is some is some short-term memory loss that nobody would really notice.”

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The launch of Stable Of Stars was delayed by 12 months due to Williams’ major health battle but King Colorado, who won the Group 1 JJ Atkins at Eagle Farm as a two-year-old last year, got the ball rolling for the unique project.

King Colorado provided one of 2023’s most extraordinary racing stories, partly “owned” by a group of 48 owners and with as much as $151 bet leading into the JJ Atkins and then officially he was backed from $41 to $14 to score an incredible win.

The eclectic Aussie group who leases the horse from his breeder Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalifa Al Maktoum includes grave digger and excavator Darren McDonald who said King Colorado is the first horse he has ever had a financial interest in.

Darren McDonald is a grave digger who is in the lease/ownership of Australian Guineas contender King Colorado. Picture: Nicole Cleary

King Colorado had a disappointing spring campaign but has since returned with a bang in two runner-up finishes this year.

He now lines up as one of the leading fancies in the Group 1 Australian Guineas at Flemington on Saturday.

The high interest from farms for a potential stud deal, which diminished in spring when the colt didn’t win a race during the carnival, will return if the Ciaron Maher-trained galloper can soar to glory in the Guineas.

King Colorado wins the Group 1 JJ Atkins last year. Picture: Grant Peters/Trackside Photography

For Williams, 62, he is simply glad he is still around to see the moment.

“I know it is a bit of a cliche how people say when they have a near-death experience, their life changes, but it really does,” Williams said.

“I get an extra great buzz out of life now and I know all my ‘owners’ in King Colorado are having a really great time.

“After he won the JJ Atkins, as a two-year-old Group 1 winner, everyone was saying he was going to be a sought after stallion.

“There were a number of (stud) farms that were interested in him, but when he came back in spring that interest waned because we didn’t win a race during spring.

“If he wins the Guineas, I am sure that interest (from stud farms) will be back.”

Originally published as Stable Of Stars founder Grant Williams reveals near-death experience ahead of King Colorado’s Australian Guineas tilt