Williamson on the mend

Almost six weeks ago Southlander Nathan Williamson driving Captains Mistress, was involved in a horrific accident at Alexandra Park when the struts holding the seat on his race cart broke from the crossbar. He was tossed onto the track and suffered a major head knock.

After a period in Auckland Hospital Williamson has returned home and is making good progress in his recovery.

“It’s been apparent in the last few weeks how serious the accident was. I’m pretty lucky to be here so I just have to make sure I do things right to get back on track. I notice that I lose energy and struggle to get through a day without having a rest up. Apart from that I feel normal,” he said.

At the moment Williamson is unable to drive or gear up horses.

“I can’t afford to get a knock on the head. Nine times out of ten working with horses you’re not going to, but I can’t risk it.”

Williamson says he’s finding it hard to have to train his horses from the sideline and not to be able to drive them.

“I’m still working through that and it’s been very difficult. In our industry a lot is done on feel so it’s difficult to sit there and watch. When you’re working horses you pick up whether they need more training or less. I’m lucky to have such good staff who give me good feedback which has made the process a bit easier, but it is still difficult.”

Williamson has watched the video of the accident and recently viewed footage taken by the Queen Of Hearts sponsors Woodlands Stud, which was taken from the birdcage some twenty metres away.

“It’s a bit of a difficult watch but what I would say is that I wasn’t scared to watch it.”

Williamson is very grateful to all the crash crew and the ambulance staff who assisted on the night and members of the harness racing community.

“Special thanks go to Luke Edmonds who was part of the crash crew team that helped me a lot, along with Scotty Phelan who jumped the fence and assisted. Danny Blackmore was instrumental in keeping me still and making sure I didn’t do anything too silly. Luk Chin (a doctor and harness racing trainer and driver) came out and did an assessment.  I can’t thank them all enough.”

Williamson was using a borrowed cart in which he’d won the Group One New Zealand Sires’ Stakes Three Year Old Fillies Final with Captains Mistress at Alexandra Park in May last year.

“It was a short cart. She’s such a clean gaited filly who doesn’t swing her hind legs very much. I adjusted the seat and to my best recollection I didn’t feel anything untoward. We warmed up, we were in the race and I didn’t feel anything untoward. It was just one of those accidents.”

He says he can remember everything up until the accident.

Since then, Captains Mistress has headed to Australia where she’s under the care of Jason Grimson. She’s won both of her starts in her new stable and Williamson is very proud of his part in developing the filly.

“She was my first Group One winner. She’s been the perfect horse since day one. I’m rapt with how she’s going. She’s proving how good she can be and there might be more yet to come.”

The four year old mare has been touted as a chance in the in the $100,000 Group One Chariots Of Fire at Menangle in early March.

“You take pride that you’ve nurtured a horse through that’s been the best filly at two and three, but she’s ready to go on to prove herself as an open mare.”

So when will Williamson be back?

“I won’t be back before I’m ready and the professionals say I’m ready. I’ve had some check ups that have been very positive.”

By the end of next month he hopes to have a clearer picture of when he can return to raceday driving.

Despite losing the services of star filly Captains Mistress, Williamson has some good three year olds in the stable being prepared for some major assignments in the coming months.

“Palladium and Simply Amazing will be aimed at the Southern Supremacy. Indulge Me and Treacherous Me are potentially Southern Oaks fillies. We really like both those fillies and there’s potential they may both to Auckland, but we’ll see how they train down.”

Class trotting filly Duchess Maria is also back in the stable after a foot abscess halted her two year old campaign.

“It was a deep seated abscess. It was a real bugger and bad timing for her. Both her a Indulge Me have come back from John and Katrina Price’s looking tremendous.”

Duchess Maria’s targets will include the $100,000 G1 Northern Trotting Derby, the G1 $120,000 Sires’ Stakes Three Year Old Trotters Championship and the G3 Northern Trotting Oaks, all at Alexandra Park in May.

by Bruce Stewart, for Harnesslink