Clint Allen listened to the horror stories about the Augusta Futurity before finally making his first visit this year.

"I heard that sometimes the cows could be tough here and this could be a tough cutting," he said. "But I had a couple of horses I felt I could do good on if I showed them right."

Allen showed Aristo Katz well enough Saturday night to mark 224.5 and win the Futurity Open finals by a half-point at Augusta-Richmond County Civic Center.

Allen of Weatherford, Texas, earned $31,219. Three-time Augusta Futurity champion Lloyd Cox of Fort Morgan, Colo., and Miss Woody Two Shoes finished second for $20,578, while Guy Woods of Pilot Point, Texas and Cat Ichi placed third with 222.5 for $17,839.

"It's weird coming somewhere like this for the first time and winning it," Allen said.

In celebration of the Augusta Futurity's 25th anniversary, the show awarded $25,000 to the best run during any of the eight official events. On Zacks Lena, Jim Vangilder of Jackson, Mo., marked 227 in the Classic Non-Pro, while Tag Rice of Buffalo, Texas, and Chiquita Pistol matched the score in the Classic Open. Vangilder and Chiquita Pistol owner Tooter Dorman will each receive $12,500.

Cox was bidding for his fourth Augusta win which would've moved him into second place on the all-time Augusta victory list. He and his mare posted their score late in the first bunch of cattle. The mark held until Allen ran next-to-last in the 25-horse championship.

"You go down there and try to put together the best run you can," said Cox, who finished second in the Western Horseman Cup Open finals Thursday. "You hope it stays up there high. You never know where you're going to end up. If it holds, it holds."

It didn't. Though he fretted over a tough draw, the 30-year-old Allen did his homework. He looked over the limited good cattle and made his decisions on which to choose.

"I was kind of worried," he said. "I knew I had to really sit and study and watch cows."

Allen didn't have any concern with his horse. Aristo Katz, a mare by Smart Aristocrat out of Katz, is from a prestigious blood line. Smart Aristocrat won the 1995 Augusta Futurity Open and Aristo Katz's grandfather, High Brow Cat, won the 1993 Augusta Futurity Classic Open.

"(Aristo Katz) was great from the time she was born," owner Jack Waggoner of Bridgeport, Texas, said. "She was a very good horse. She was a very smart horse."

Allen, who's originally from New Zealand, came to the United States in 1996 and went to work for trainer Matt Gaines. He has worked with Aristo Katz since January 2003, and started showing her competitively this past fall.

"She's a lot of fun to ride," he said. "She can do a lot of stuff that a lot of horses I've ridden before couldn't do. She's got such a big stop. She's so quick."

Reach Chris Gay at (706) 868-1222, ext. 114 or chris.gay@augustachronicle.com.