Harness racing star Matty Williamson has no doubts drivers like him are the ones punters should be following over coming months.
And by drivers like him, he means skinny drivers.
Williamson had a huge weekend in the sulky, reining four grass track winners, three at Oamaru on Saturday and one at Methven yesterday.
But even his three at Oamaru were not enough to win the Brothers In Arms series with brother Nathan, that honour going to northern siblings Sailesh and Jay Abernethy.
They won four of the six series races, Sailesh bagging three and Jay one, while only one of Williamson’s three winners of the day came in a heat of the series.
But the 26-year-old Oamaru horseman says Saturday’s results are a blueprint for the busy grass track racing circuit over the summer.
“I have do doubt the lighter drivers have an advantage on the grass tracks,” says Williamson.
“Look at Saturday. I won three races and I weight about 65kgs, while I reckon Sailesh would be closer to 55kgs than 60kgs. Same with Jay.
“I am sure on the grass tracks, because they aren’t as smooth, us lighter guys and the a lot of the girls have an advantage over some of the bigger boys.
“You even see it with the sulkies a lot of trainers use on the grass tracks now. A lot of trainers, especially in the bigger stables where they have the resources, use their older carts on the grass rather than the new, heavier ones you use at Addington.
“So maybe that is something for punters to watch out for.”Williamson says his father Phil qualified a couple of nice trotters over the weekend and the stable expect to have their usual strong summer on the Southland circuit.
The lighter drivers theory also shone through in Saturday’s feature when Samantha Ottley lead almost throughout on Perissa to win the Changeover Handicap.
The Mark Jones-trained mare recorded her ninth career win and her third for the season, matching her best return for an entire term two years ago.With her manners and love of the grass she shouldn’t be hard to place on the Country Cups circuit in coming months.
The expensive failure of the race was hot favourite Alta Orlando, who never gave punters reason for confidence after taking an age to circle the field in the middle stages before being beaten before the turn, finishing fifth.
Michael Guerin