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Western Australia’s hottest racing combination look set to continue after weeks of uncertainty, albeit in a reduced capacity.
The racing world was rife last week of rumours that co-trainers Grant and Alana Williams and leading owner-breeder Bob Peters were set to split after the Ascot Masters.
Peters and the Williams' are on the verge of creating an historic treble on Saturday with Western Empire the raging favourite to win the Group 1 Kingston Town Classic (1800m).
It follows the rising star's emphatic win in last fortnight's Group 1 Railway Stakes and stable mate Graceful Girl's sizzling victory in Saturday's Group 1 Winterbottom Stakes.
Since establishing their partnership nearly a decade ago, Peters and the Williams stable have formed a formidable combination, winning a host of Perth's major races.
They include the Railway Stakes and Champion Fillies Stakes on five occasions, the Kingston Town Classic three times, nine wins in the WA Derby, seven in the WA Oaks and the Perth Cup three times.
Their success has also stretched across to Melbourne with Regal Power winning the $5 million All Star Mile and Arcadia Queen scoring a Group 1 double in the Mackinnon Stakes and Caulfield Stakes.
Confusion surfaced last week after Grant Williams expressed publicly his concerns about the stables future with Peters continuing under their existing financial arrangement.
But in a media statement this morning (Monday), Williams said although he and Alana won't be training exclusively for Peters, their association would continue in Perth.
Under a new arrangement the husband and wife team will open their doors to new owners and also look to expand their client base and business model by opening a satellite stable in Melbourne.
"While we will continue to train horses for Peters Investments, we are cognizant of the need to broaden our ownership base now and into the future," Grant Williams said.
"The racing industry is consistently growing and evolving and we need to continue to develop our business model so as to provide a strong platform for continued success."
Since the formation of their training partnership in 2014, the Williams' have trained nearly 600 winners, at a strike rate of 26.4%. This places them amongst the most elite trainers in Australia.
Alana Williams, a former leading jockey, and an integral player in the stable set up, is excited by what the future holds.
"I love what I do and I'm excited for what the future holds for both Grant and myself," She said.
"I still enjoy riding work and feel the unique dynamic Grant and I have with me on the horses and him running operations on the ground, gives us that special edge which most training operations don't have."
Drawing on their previous success in Melbourne, the co-trainers believe opening a satellite stable is a wonderful opportunity to showcase their skills and allow owners to tap into the rich prizemoney on offer.
They also indicated they will be active buyers at all major yearling sales across Australian in 2022.
