| PEOPLE |
YEAR: 1995
 |
Last Saturday night, on a stretch of road between Ashburton and Hinds, harness racing lost a youth of great character; a horseman of immense potential. Driving alone, 19-year-old Darren De Filippi was involved in a three-car accident that cost him his life.
The last of his 264 career drives was on Stambro, who died in a separate accident on the same road, on the same day.
To say Darren De Filippi was a role model, a bright light amongst the apprentices in th industry, was a fact. He was bred to be nothing else. His father Colin has long been at the top of his profession and his mother Julie is the daughter of the highly-respected trainer and mentor, Bill Denton.
Right from the start, Darren made his career plans obvious. As a 13-year-old, in the holidays and weekends he would bike off to the stables of Robert Dunn where the education started by his parents would continue. He told Robert he had better horses than his father. He got away with that. When he was old enough, he asked Robert for a job. "He just sat in the cart like a natural. He had a lovely set of hands. And he had an easy rapport with owners, trainers and all those he had dealings with," he said. Employed ever since then by Robert, Darren won his first race behind Judicial at Addington in September, 1994, and finished with nine wins. This season, from 70 drives, he had driven six winners.
His qualities were again recognised off the track at the annual cadet night prize-giving at Addington on Monday night, where he won three awards - the J S Dalgety prize, the second prize for third-year cadet, and the cadet representative prize. In his first year as a cadet, he won the prestigous Regional Training Officers prize. "He had human qualities well beyond his years," said Cadet Director, Jack Mulcay. Everwhere you turned, everyone had the same opinion."
Along with his renowned politeness - his seniors were always addressed as "Mister" - Darren had the ambition to reach the top as a driver. "He asked me at morning tea on Wednesday if I would let him drive down south because he wanted to have a real crack at the South Island junior drivers title. I said he could, and we would sit down and work out the best way to go about it," said Robert.
Bill Denton said Darren loved all sport, but lived for his horses. "He was a super kid," he said. That was a quality about Darren that made him the fine, young man that he was. He touched the lives of many with his open, engaging and cheerful manner; his ability to enjoy the success of others as much as his own. His grandfather, who so enjoyed his company, and could see the future he had, is thankful for the times they had together..."but it's something I wanted more of."
You speak for us all, Bill.
Credit: Mike Grainger writing in HRWeekly 29Nov95