VALE Philip Nott

WITH her right arm extended in a victory salute, Michelle Phillips looked to the heavens as she crossed the line aboard the Tim Bolitho trained pacer The Big End Oftown at Stawell recently.

The winner was raced by prominent harness racing breeder, owner and club official Philip Nott who passed away the night before the race.

“As soon as we roared out of the gates I knew I had a horse and when I pulled the plugs at the top of the straight he just kept on motoring and they weren’t going to catch us, “Phillips said after the race.

“The horse looked at me in the parade ring before the race as if he knew what was at stake,” she said.

A bookmaker for more than 45 years, there is a fair chance Philip would have looked down from above with a wry smile as his horse knocked punters for a six saluting at the lucrative odds of $34.

Philip enjoyed plenty of success racing horses linked back to bookmaking and racing terms with Off The Old’s upset win as a 90/1 chance in the 1999 Geelong Pacing Cup his biggest win.

Among his better performed runners was the metropolitan winner Doyouwantitagain while multiple winners Round Of Drinks, Copyarightwhack were always a topic of conversation along with The Early Crow.

In more recent years Philip’s close friend Bolitho has been in charge of the team and the Anakie based horseman admitted the day produced a gamut of emotions.

“What an amazing thing to happen, I was a mess after the race,” Bolitho said.

“That he was able to win didn’t surprise me all that much because he is a good horse and I told Michelle to go forward at the start,” he said.

Bolitho and Philip combined to make frequent visits to the winner’s stall during the past five or six years with the four times country cups winner Arber and Rule Of Thumb.

“Phil would come out to the stables once of week until his health wouldn’t allow him and while he wasn’t a hands on horseman he enjoyed the involvement and our trips to the races,” he said.

“He will be sorely missed not only by me but also by the industry and his many friends in harness racing.”

Philip was a fine contributor to the Geelong Harness Racing Club serving as president from 2005 to 2008 and was bestowed with Life Membership to the club in 2017.

Geelong Harness Racing Club president John Ballestrino acknowledged Philip’s service to the club.

“ I had the fortune of having worked alongside Phil as his Vice President during his years as President and he never wavered in his passion to see the club succeed and become a force in the industry,” Ballestrino said.

“Phil was a friend and mentor to all of us at Geelong, in latter years volunteering at trial nights and race days while his health still allowed him to do so,” he said.

It will be very hard to replace Phil, his friendship, his leadership and his passion for a good joke will be greatly missed by all of us at the club.

Our thoughts are with his wife Linda and son Craig at this sad time.”

Photo: Nott (right) holds up the Cup won by his pacer Off The Old