Liam Elliott and Swagger Man NZ after their win Photo by Pacepix
After another stellar week for the junior drivers in WA, Liam ‘Fluffy’ Elliott became the latest concession driver to claim his first metropolitan win, a moment he won’t ever forget.
“It was a really big thrill and hard to put into words. I had run a lot of seconds, so it was a sense of relief and a big thrill.
After a thrilling finish to race six on Friday night, the Ryan Bell trained Swagger Man NZ continued his good form to make it two wins in a row, with Elliott driving the six-year-old to victory by a head margin over the 2130m trip in 1:56:6.
Elliott, who started working for Bells Pacing Stable in recent months, jumped at the opportunity to work for the prominent WA stable when the opportunity presented itself in an interesting way.
“I drove Queeninthecorner at Bunbury, and I did a few things wrong, and Ryan offered me a chance to go do track work with them. A few months later I asked if he was looking for a worker.
“And originally he said no.” Elliott joked.
Although he tried his hand at carpentry after he left school, he had an urge pulling back into the horses, and less than two years in, he’s sitting at an impressive 47 career wins just 20 months in.
“I had always loved the horses and with the system change, I decided to try my hand at driving with my claim.”
Like many of the greats before him, Fluffy started his career on the pint size racers, with pony trots an integral part of his life growing up.
“I did pony trots as a kid, and I always wanted to be a driver.
“Mum and dad with my grandparents had the horses as well and once it’s in your blood, it’s hard to get it out.”
Liam’s family history in the sport goes back quite a few generations, with the Elliott and Steer families firmly engrained in WA’s harness racing history,
Elliott heads to Pinjarra on Monday, June 30, with four drives on his books, with Lady Valaska (race 2), Tempt The Stars (race 5), Trittrittbangbang (race 8) and Rellim (race 9) and to Gloucester Park on Tuesday night for Jolted Charm (race 2) and Rakero Raider NZ (race 5).
