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PEOPLE

 

YEAR: 1994

PHIL WILLIAMS

Weedons trainer Phil Williams died at the weekend, aged 74.

He held a licence for nearly 50 years, and during that time had "enjoyed the challenge" of training the trotter. For more than 20 years, Williams was private trainer for electrician Horry Alston.

His most important win was the 1962 NZ Trotting Stakes at Addington with Spark Gap, who won by eight lengths from Grand Charge and Dreaming. By Thunder On from Transmitter, Spark Gap also won the Canterbury Park Trotting Stakes in 3:16 from Flaming Way and Snow Globe.

Another good trotter was Resistor which he took to open class. Resistor's wins included a handicap at Westport over two miles off 108 yards. "I used to love going to race on the Coast circuit," he said.

Other notable training feats were winning a double the same day at Hutt Park with Queen's Jewel; finishing first and second in the Cheviot Cup with Mountain Tarn and Green Valley, and running 1,2,3 in a trot at Greymouth with Copper Wire, Wire Wound and Resistor's Sister.

Other useful horses he trained were Component, Avon Spark, Blue Adios, Blue Spark, Tranmitter Sound - later to give Maurice Holmes his last winning drive - and Astro Blue, who dead-heated for first with Noodlum in the Golden Slipper Stakes at Waimate.

The last horse Williams had been involved with was Alias Charm, who he passed on to be trained by his son, Austin.

Credit: NZ HRWeekly 30Mar94



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