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RACING HISTORY

FEATURE RACE COMMENT

Phil & Bev Williamson

As well as being a popular, good, all-round guy, Phil Williamson can train a trotter - and he can drive them, too. He won the New Zealand Trotting Championship, when it was a Group 2 race, a few years ago with the pacing-bred Role Model. He won it again at Addington last Saturday night with the impeccably-bred trotting mare, Allegro Agitato.

The win came at the minor expense of Ado's Invasion, who had his chance and closed the margin to a neck, and the major expense of the globe-trotting veteran, Lyell Creek, who found the question of relentless speed too hard to answer. That is where Williamson had placed Allegro Agitato, in front and humming. She had blotted her copybook the week before when breaking and running eighth in a stand behind Major Decision. "She can lose it, and I think she just freaked out when she saw Aramid doing things wrong," he said.

The Sundon mare drew wide but was quick enough to cross them, while Lyell Creek was a shade off them. Driver Anthony Butt had him off the markers and sitting fifth on the outer after 400 metres. "I didn't really want Lyell Creek to come up when he did, but we got cracking them. She got up on the steel, and I could see him start to get a bit tired before the corner," he said. No surprise in that, Allegro Agitato ran the 2600m trip in 3:16.1, which was two seconds quicker than Sunny Action's NZ record for a mare of 3:18.1.

Remarkably, Allegro Agitato has won her nine races and $90,000 from just 20 starts, in 20 months. "But she was special right from the start. Even well before she raced she showed potential. She had class," he said. Williamson is still mindful of her dodgy little ways. "I just hope her head stays the right way round," he said, as he considered her trip to Alexandra Park for two races, the first this Friday night and the other, the Rowe Cup, a fortnight later. "She is a good stayer, but is pretty fast too. What I am really looking forward to with her is the Flying Mile at Ashburton in the spring. I am sure she could run some sort of time if she got the right draw on the front," he said.

Allegro Agitato is raced by Michael and Roni Lauren of Oamaru, who bred the mare, Michael's brother Dennis, Pip Gerard of Hamilton, and Williamson. Her dam is Chiola's Lass, the winner of 10 races, and NZ 3-Year-Old Trotter of the Year in the 1990/91 season.



Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 15Apr04