| COMPETITIONS |
YEAR: 2007
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Nathan (19 years) was first licenced in the 2004/05 season and is employed by his father Phil Williamson. He had his first totalisator drive in March 2005 at Oamaru and since that time has established himself as not only a very competent Junior Driver but is also excelling as a free lance driver as well.
His biggest success last season was driving Jasmyn’s Gift to win the Group 1 NZ Trotting Free-For-All on Show Day.
The Maurice Holmes Memorial Junior Driver Trophy applies to all Junior Driver races conducted at Addington during the season and Nathan through some consistent efforts has pipped his good friend and rival Gavin Smith in the race for the title. It is ironical that Gavin pipped Nathan in the past seasons NZ Junior Drivers Championship which encompasses all Junior Driver races throughout NZ.
Final Points Standings were as follows :-
Nathan Williamson 20 points
Gavin Smith 19 points
Sam Smolenski 13 points
In addition to the Trophy, Nathan received, courtesy of New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting Club, a return trip to Australia with spending money plus $500 worth of clothing.
Credit: Tony Lye
YEAR: 2006
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| Bev, Nathan & Phil Williamson |
And for a while trainer Phil Williamson was considering the prospect of sitting in the stand for it all, not that that was unduly worrying him. Williamson would need a crowbar to prise his 18-year-old son Nathan from driving Jasmyn's Gift after a memorable first Group 1 success in Friday's NZ Trotting FFA, and in a somewhat surprising move, Allegro Agitato will get another chance from a stand after blowing the start in the last two Dominions and Rowe Cups. She will continue her association with Ricky May, while One Over Kenny earned her shot at the Dominion when she was seen at her demoralising best in the $20,000 Konami Trot last Friday.
With an Auckland trip coming up over Christmas, Tony Herlihy had the option to handle One Over Kenny in the Dominion, a race he has surprisingly won only one and 14 years ago with Directorship. But Sly Flyin's win in the NZ Free-For-All later in the day, which earned him a Miracle Mile invite, will almost certainly see Herlihy in Sydney this Friday night instead of Christchurch. Williamson will probably thus take the reins on One Over Kenny, and the stable could quite conceivably run the trifecta in the Dominion with these three quite outstanding mares.
It was almost certainly a unique event to have four trotting events on the one programme last Friday, and Williamson almost won all four of them. Prior to Jasmyn's Gift and One Over Kenny scoring, Lets Get Serious had caused a minor upset in downing the odds-on Tim Butt and Phil Anderson trained Moment Of Truth in the opening event, while the tables were then reversed when Smart Seeker won over the slightly unlucky Blakatak, a recent addition to the stable and yet to finish out of the money in six starts for Williamson.
Jasmyn's Gift had her chance when third on Cup Day, but an entirely different track and tactics saw her back to her brilliant best. Eased off the gate from a handy draw, Jasmyn's Gift had only one behind her in a fairly strung out field when Nathan Williamson set off at the 1800m with what amounted to a 'search and destroy' mission. Taking up the running with a lap to travel from Glenbogle, Jasmyn's Gift would not be denied in the run home as he challenged in the passing lane, and Allegro Agitato finished on out wider from three back on the fence. "She doesn't have the speed of the others, but gee she has a lot of guts," said Nathan. "She just loves the wet, so as soon as I got out there and saw how much the track had deteriorated, I became quite confident. I knew the conditions would take the sprint out of the others," he added.
The 7-year-old daughter of Sundon was well outside her own national 2600m mobile record for mares of 3:15.1, but her 3:19.5 in the conditions was still a highly commendable performance, and far too much for rivals which had far easier runs and the drop on her. Glenbogle rallied well in the worst of the conditions nearest the pylons, but Jasmyn's Gift always had him well covered, while Allegro Agitato had her high speed negated, particularly when attempting to sprint on the home turn in what had become a 'pretty shitty' part of the track.
Jasmyn's Gift has had her share of problems this past year, failing to produce her best form during an Australian campaign and having some joint soreness issues since returning this season to win four on the trot. "She's had problems with soreness for a while now, and you can't keep her 'screwed down' all the time," said Phil. "She takes a torrent of work, but you have to peak her at certain times. The race on Cup Day would have cleaned her up nicely, and I'm picking she will improve again with today's race," he added.
An improved Jasmyn's Gift will be a scary thought for her rivals going into the Dominion. Im last year's Dominion, she did a stretch and seemingly her chips at the start, but went the 'race of the century' to somehow finish third to Pompallier, a sound enough fourth on Friday. Allegro Agitato is also coming to hand nicely, and will be the hardest for Jasmyn's Gift to beat this week if she steps away with them. "She's been going away good from stands at the trials, and the ten metres will make all the difference - hopefully," said Phil. Outside of winning from 40 metres at Gore last march, in a lead-up race to winning the NZ Trotting Championship at Addington ar Easter, Allegro Agitato hasn't even attempted a stand in the last two and a half years, apart from blowing the starts of those two Dominions and Rowe Cups.
One Over Kenny won't be the worst in the Dominion either after coming off 20 metres and sitting outside the warm favourite Tozzie over the last lap. Tozzie had to work to find the lead over the first 800m, but Herlihy had him covered a fair way from home and Tozzie galloped under pressure before One Over Kenny strolled home by almost three lengths over Rhythm Of The Night and Lord Rotarian. "I was getting her ready for Auckland over Christmas - she is very good that way round - but I guess she has probably earned a shot at the Dominion now," said Phil. "The owners have been threatening to send her stud, so hopefully she has done enough to earn a reprieve in that respect anyway. As intended we pretty much gave her the 4-year-old season off, and she's still on the way up now," he added.
But the day really belonged to Jasmyn's Gift and Nathan Williamson, and he had quite a rollercoaster ride of emotions in the aftermath. A flourish of the whip as she crossed the line was soon followed by some tears of joy upon easing up, and not long after there were some tears of pain when Williamson copped a well delivered and timed hind kick from his favourite mare, flush on the shin. He was doing up a cover strap behind Jasmyn's Gift when she simply responded to entire Winforu squealing in the next stall. Williamson was hobbling around and wincing with the pain for a good 10 minutes afterwards, and will be sporting a very good bruise this week, but lost none of his admiration and joy for Jasmyn's Gift after his biggest win by far, and hers since downing Allegro Agitato in last year's Trotting Championship in record time. "She is just a lovely mare and that is not her at all - she would never kick out in her life - and I would have no qualms about sleeping between her legs. Even if I had to be getting around on crutches, you couldn't stop me driving her next week," he said.
Credit: Frank Marrion writing in HRWeekly 22Nov06
YEAR: 2006
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| The Weekly celebrates the Williamson's win |
This really does nothing more than make his father Phil acknowledge the fact his son is shaping pretty well. "I hate to say it but I predictee before he started out that he would make the grade, not that I thought he would get to this stage so soon. I had seen enough of him at gymkhanas and workouts to think he was a natural as far as driving was concerned. If he was anyone else's kid, you'd say he was pretty talented," he said.
He could easily have passed that compliment to his son after winning the Ordeal Trotting Cup at Addington last Thursday, in which Nathan used sound judgement to make his move round the field in the middle stages and, as a result, completed it with an easy run to the finish.
"It is a confidence thing as well," said Phil, who trains the mare and races her with his wife, Bev. "I'm sure there are other young people out there with similar ability, but they will not get the opportunities to show it."
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 20Sep06
YEAR: 2008
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Springbank Richard booked his ticket for the Harness Jewels in Cambridge with a brilliant win at Addington last Saturday night.
It was the second start and second win for the son of Sundon in his 4-year-old season, which, for him, only got going earlier this month. That meant he was in 'catch up' mode for a place on the Jewels leaderboard, but his winning cheque of $27,315 from Saturday's First Sovereign Trust 4YO Trotters Championship has now put him well into the 'safe' zone. And what a victory it was, because Springbank Richard was used twice to get to the parked position and yet he made a star-studded field look second-rate when he forged away on the turn and won comfortably.
"He's so easy to drive," says Nathan Williamson. "It's almost a case of don't be unlucky, and that's it. He was fair bolting on the turn tonight, and I could've put a couple of lengths on them; he tends to wait for the opposition a bit. He's definitely the best horse I've driven."
Prior to his winning resumption at Invercargill three weeks ago, Springbank Richard was last seen romping away with the Victoria Derby way back in July. His late start to 2007/08 is all part of the master plan, one where trainer Phil Williamson is looking much further down the track. "We wanted to give him as light a season as possible, because he's a lean, mean machine," Williamson said. "And as he gets stronger, we hope he'll keep getting better. We've just got to man-manage him from here. I mean, you could get carried away and start in a race like the Rowe Cup - but why would you do that and risk undoing him, whereas if you wait then you can start him in it five years in a row."
As firmly as his feet are on the ground, Williamson can't help but be excited about the horse that's now won his last six outings - and eight from nine since joining the stable. "Horses like this are born, they're not made," he said. "And he could be something special for sure."
Williamson said Springbank Richard will have an easy time before the Jewels now, with at least one more run somewhere on the cards, and then the star 4-year-old could even go north early for a race at Cambridge or Alexandra Park - "for a look around the place. I think the Jewels is going to be very much about the draws," he warned.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 27Mar08
YEAR: 2011
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For practical reasons, Gay McClymont chose to watch her race at Addington on Saturday from the rooftop of the new stabling area. It was certainly an occasion for the Gore trainer, being the first time a horse in her colours had started at Christchurch Headquarters, but on the tote her trotter Larix wasn't given much of a show and McClymont wasn't about to argue. "I knew we weren't going to be needed in the birdcage after the race, so I thought we may as well watch from a spot closer to where she'd be coming back in," McClymont said.
From her head-on vantage point McClymont could see Larix had put herself in the finish, but it wasn't until a few moments later when course commentator Mark McNamara confirmed it that the reality sank in. "That was a huge thrill," she said. "You take a win wherever you can get it but to win one at Addington is certainly a buzz."
McClymont and her husband Nick didn't have much time to celebrate their victory in the $25,000 Group 3 Kahdon Four-Year-Old Trotters Championship, because as soon as they were finished in the swabbing box they loaded Larix onto the float and began the journey home. "It doesn't take long to come back to earth when you've got a farm," she said. "We've got hay on the ground, and we've managed to get some of it in but there's still half a paddock to do. It's rained a lot down there lately, and every time the hay starts to dry out enough it'll pour again; it's very frustrating."
The McClymonts live in Gore and own a 200 acre sheep farm at Whiterig about three kilometres away. At peak there's up to 900 ewes and 200 hoggets to manage, but as Nick is a full-time tanker driver for Fonterra, Gay does most of the work herself. "I've always said that the farm has to come first and the horses second, because the farm is what pays the bills," she said. "Things have had to change a little bit this season though." That's because Larix has really put McClymont on the map during 2010/11, winning four of her 10 outings. She's been a 'hit or miss' type of trotter ever since her career began last March though, evidenced by her record of six victories from 16 starts in total but not a single placing amongst them.
McClymont and her mum Rae Given bred Larix themselves. The 4-year-old Safely Kept mare is out of Tamarix, who they also bred, and McClymont trained her in the last four of her five victories. "Brendon McLellan helped me with Tamarix early on," she recalled. "And she actually started out as a great pacer - running a quarter in twenty-six at the Gore workouts one day; we thought we had an Oaks filly. But she never tried an inch once she got to the races, so in frustration I stopped in the middle of training one day and threw the hopples away. She had a few issues and took a bit to get organised, and at one stage when we were busy with lambing I gave her to Brendon."
Tamarix ironically won her first race while boarding at McLellan's, and the same thing happened with Larix too. McClymont broke her wrist badly in a shearing accident and was in plaster for a year, so her good friends Geoff and Judy Knight took Larix into their care and she qualified and won her first two races from the couple's stable. "I don't think Geoff was too happy about giving her back in the end," she smiled. "She was lovely to break in and is lovely to work with, but she's got her funny wee ways too. She just got into her head that she couldn't get round corners. When she's good she's very very good, but when she's bad she's horrid. And once she gallops she's usually history. I mean, she's had sixteen starts but you couldn't say she's had sixteen races. I do very little on the track with her now. Our farm's a very rolling property, so for work she goes up hill and down dale. One day she might see a rabbit, and the next it'll be a duck. I just take her around the sheep and stop at all the gates as we go through them, and she's not near as silly as she used to be."
Another component in the equation is Larix's driver Nathan Williamson. "He's fantastic with her," she says. "I wouldn't have a horse if it wasn't for Nathan, because he's looked after her beautifully and taught her all the way through. She knows him really well, and seems to relax for him. He's had big wraps on her right from the dayhe drove her in qualifying, too."
So did Larix's trainer get any of the $50 dividend on Saturday? "I actually don't bet. I've always maintained that if I put money on a horse it'd be the quickest way to stop it. You might wonder 'what if' when they pay what she did, but you don't regret it when you see them gallop away."
McClymont's career tally is now sitting one short of double figures. Larix has won four for her since October last year; Tamarix recorded the same amount of victories between early 2001 and March 2002, and for her first training win you have to go back to March 1995 when Saperfluous scored at a hometown meeting in Gore. All of her wins have been trotters, but that's just coincidental. She did actually win a pacing race with Luigi in 1999, but "they took it off me for him moving one cart width out down the straight, and I'm still sour about it to this day".
McClymont bought the farm at Whiterig off her parents, and her mother still lives there. Of course it's famous for sending forth a great pacer in years gone by as well, because McClymont's late father Lionel Given co-bred, co-owned and trained none other than Sapling. "we soon got used to travelling up and down the country with a horse like him," McClymont remembered fondly. "It was Dad's partner (in Sapling) George Cruickshank that actually got me started in the eighties when he gave me a share in the broodmare Spruce, who was a half-sister to Sapling."
One of the best horses McClymont ever bred was Spruce's Double Century gelding Try A Fluke, who was sold to Australia after a couple of starts and ended up winning a Hunter Cup. With the 'highs' has come the 'lows' too though, because both Larix's half-sisters were lost within two weeks of each other to colic and twisted bowels in 2007. "The next one out of Tamarix is a 2-year-old Sundon, who was born on my son Graham and his wife Vicky's wedding day so I gave them a half-share in him as a present. He's the first colt I've bred since Dad died in 2004, so I've named him Given. She foaled a Sundon colt on Christmas night, and has gone to Monarchy."
In addition to being a farmer, and affectionately calling herself "a hick from the sticks" who trains a horse of two, McClymont is on the committee of her local club and was even President for a three-year term at the turn of the century when Gore celebrated it's centenary.
Credit: John Robinson writing in HRWeekly 9Feb2011